From West Coast to East Coast
by xMidnight Muse
Summary: When Lilly is forced to move from California to New Jersey, she feels like her life is officially over. That is, until she meets the neighbors. LillyxJoBros undecided which
1. Saying Goodbye

**A slightly overplayed story line, I know. But I don't care. I've got fab ideas for this one, so it should stand out in the crowd a bit I hope. Enjoy :o)**

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I looked to the ground and fidgeted with my bags before looking up to face my two best friends in the whole world.

Miley stood before me with tears silently falling down her cheeks. She was doing her best to stay strong, but failing miserable.

Oliver on the other hand, was trying very hard not to ruin his "manly" reputation, but like Miles, wasn't fairing to well either. Tears were welled up in his eyes as he gripped my bag tightly. Being the gentleman he was, he had insisted that he helped carry my things.

I swallowed my tears roughly before speaking, "I guess this is it", I announced rather weakly.

I turned to Miley first and hugged her tightly. After a few moments, we separated and Oliver pulled me in to a bone crushing hug, kissing the top of my head in a brotherly fashion before releasing me.

"We're really going to miss you Lils" he said sadly.

"I can't believe you're moving. Things won't be the same here without you" Miley added on, frowning deeply.

I smiled lightly, despite the tears that were cascading down my face.

"This isn't goodbye you know" I reminded them, "mom promised me that we could fly you two down once we're all settled in. And I promise to keep in touch, I mean it. I'll always be just a text, call or email away." I paused to envelop them in a tight hug.

"I'll be around. I promise" I couldn't quite tell if I was saying this for their benefit or mine.

We stayed in our hug until I heard my flight being called for boarding. We broke apart and I wiped my tears away before smiling at them the best I could.

Oliver handed me my bag and I made my way to where I would board the plane. Right before I entered, I turned to get one last look at them. I waved, and walked through the threshold, leaving Malibu, my home, behind me.

Once I was situated on the plane, I thanked my parents silently for buying me a first class ticket, although it hadn't taken much persuasion. Their little girl was riding a plane by herself across the country, and they wanted to make sure I was comfortable and safe, even if I am 17.

The reason I was by myself was that my parents had left for our new home two days earlier. They had wanted to make sure I got a good chance to say goodbye to everyone, and figured that since I was old enough, I'd be able to fly home on my own.

So now, here I was, on a plane ready to go from Sunny California, to New Jersey. From the west coast to the east. Lovely.

You see, my dad had recently been offered a new job, which just happened to be on the other side of the country. So as a result, the three of us now had to move.

But don't get me wrong. I'm excited for my dad and extremely proud of him, but that doesn't mean I have to like the circumstances.

I shook my head and brushed away a few more runaway tears before I putting in the ear buds for my iPod and preparing myself for the long journey ahead.

_About 6 1/2 hours later_

I awoke to the rather annoying voice of the flight attendant announcing we had arrived and my iPod playing at a soft volume.

I glanced out of my window, a frown gracing my features as we neared New Jersey soil.

Most people would be excited about the change, but the only thing I wanted more than anything was to turn this in to a round trip and go right back to Malibu. Too bad that wasn't an option. I'm sure Robbie Ray would have let me stay with him, Miles and Jackson.

It took a bit for me to get from the plane to the terminal, but once I did, my mom found me instantly and enveloped me in to a tight hug. You would think by her reaction that I had been gone for 5 years instead of a few days.

"How was your flight?" she asked, taking one of my bags from me. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her over protectiveness.

"It was fine mom" I assured her, as we headed out of the airport and to the car.

Once we had started driving, we were silent until she glanced at me nervously.

"So um, how are you holding up?" she asked carefully.

I shifted in my seat to give her and incredulous look, which then shifted in to a slightly sarcastic look.

"I just left my best friends and basically everything I cared about across the country, I'm feeling _fabulous" _I told her, putting emphasis on the last word. I hadn't really meant to sound so bratty, but considering everything that was going on, I had every right to be upset.

My mother swallowed hard. I could tell this was a bit awkward for her. She never really had been the "let's talk about our emotions" type of mom. She tended to avoid that kind of talk.

"Your father and I really are sorry, sweetie. But we promise that things will work out just fine here. Our new house is gorgeous, just a few miles from the boardwalk. There's also a very nice family next door, 4 sons I believe. Their mother, Denise, is just lovely. I haven't met the boys yet, but we were invited to dinner at their house tonight, so we'll meet them then." Mom told me, trying to make the best out of a bad situation.

I simple shrugged, I guess it would be nice to meet new people my first night in town.

Within 40 minutes, mom had pulled in to the driveway of what I had to admit was a very nice looking house. Dad had shown me pictures of it on the internet, but it looked much nicer in person.

I saw that parked in front of us was a large Uhaul truck with the back open. Inside were mountains of boxes, all containing our possessions, and our furniture which was covered in protective plastic. It was strange how much a small family could have.

The sight made my stomach drop slightly, as the realization finally hit me at full force. We weren't going back. I had always had that small hope in the back of my mind that we'd turn right around and go back to Malibu, but seeing the boxes of our things made it official. The Truscotts were here to stay.

My eyes began to sting slightly as a fresh round of tears came to my eyes. I furiously wiped them away and proceeded to follow my mom in to the house.

"There you are Lilly!" My dad came up to me and hugged me tightly.

"Well," he started, gesturing around him, "what do you think?"

I wanted to tell him the truth, that I just wanted to go home, but the grin on his face signaled me that I had to lie. He was so happy, and I just couldn't bring myself to ruin it.

"It's great, dad" I told him, forcing a small smile.

If possible, his grin widened at my words.

"So, which room is going to be mine?" I asked, deliberately changing the subject.

"Up the stairs, end of the hallway" he said, pointing me in the direction of the stairs.

I nodded my head, and followed his directions.

The room I found was actually quite nice. It was a wide open space with wood floors and currently white walls (my parents had given me complete creative control over the room, which I figured would be put in to action the next day).

On one of the walls was a window that faced the back of our house, which meant I had a fair view of the ocean, something I was rather comforted by. I was also excited to see that I had my own bathroom, which meant no longer being yelled out for "hogging" the bathroom.

I threw my bags on to the floor, figuring I'd deal with them later.

At this point, there was a small knock on my door, which I responded to with a loud "yeah?"

My mom entered, glancing around the room as well. "It's nice isn't it?" I nodded, a sigh escaping my lips.

"We thought you'd like it. Anyway, your father and I are going to head over to the Jonas's now, but you can stay here and fix yourself up. But once you're done, just come over. It's the house to the left of ours" she told me, pointing over in the direction.

Technically, I figured it was really the right, if you were looking at it from the street, but my mom never had been the best with direction, so I let it slide.

"Alright mom, I'll be over in a few" I told her, again forcing a smile. I had a bad feeling that was how most of my smiles would be for awhile.

She left my room, and a few minutes later I also heard our front door open, then close.

I rummaged through my suitcases to find a new outfit to wear. In the end, I decided on my black and blue Fall Out Boy shirt, a pair of dark wash jeans and light blue ballet flats.

I pulled out my bag full of bathroom things, and headed in that direction. I took the time to wash my face, brush my teeth and comb out my hair. I kept my blonde hair down, liking the punk rock look I currently had due to the dark brown streaks I had administered in it a week or so earlier.

I put on a layer of eyeliner, some eye shadow, mascara and a bit of lipgloss before deeming myself worthy. I reentered my room and grabbed my cell phone, always hoping that I would hear from Miley or Oliver.

I left the house and walked next door to the house mom had indicated earlier. I rang the doorbell and waited until the door was opened. During the waiting period, I busied myself with examining my nails.

I heard the door open and looked up. My jaw instantly dropped at who had answered the door.

No. Effing. Way.

**oOoOoOoOo**

**So, I hope you liked it! Reviews are totally appreciated, so drop me one. Next chapter Lilly meets the JoBros (yay!). Oh, and since I'm having a tough time deciding, do you guys want Lilly to get with Joe, Nick or even Kevin? Although I'll probably play around with crushes and such, let me know what you want to final couple to be :o)**

**I don't own Hannah Montana or the Jonas Brothers.**


	2. Long Way From Home

**Wow! Thank you so much for all of your reviews, that seriously made my day :o) Anyway, I also really appreciate all of the input and ideas you guys are giving me, I've honestly got to say that that really helps the writing. And I think I've got the pairing figured out, but I'm not going to tell you until later (mwahahaha!) Anyway, here's chapter deux!**

**oOoOoOoOo**

**Lilly's POV**

_I heard the door open and looked up. My jaw instantly dropped at who had answered the door._

_No. Effing. Way._

The boy who had answered simply smiled at me, I could tell that he was suppressing a laugh, "you must be Lilly" he spoke, his eyes sparkling.

I nodded, trying hard to clear my thoughts and get my mind back. After a second of thought, I realized that I honestly shouldn't have been that surprised. Famous people tend to pop in and out of my life on a regular basis, so this was almost normal. Almost.

"And you're Kevin Jonas" I pointed out, even though it was obvious.

The oldest Jonas studied me for a minute before furrowing his brow, "wow, no screaming, fainting, incoherent babbling or anything. I'm impressed" he smiled again as he moved out of the way and gestured for me to come inside.

"We've got company!" his call was instantly followed by the pounding of feet as the other 2/3 of the Jonas Brothers came in front of me.

Again, I had to do a bit of a double take to make sure that I wasn't hallucinating. Were they seriously my neighbors?

It was the second oldest brother, Joe, who broke the awkwardness by striking a pose, "Don't worry, I know that you're dazed by my devilishly good looks, it happens all the time" he said, winking.

Nick narrowed his eyes and slapped his brother upside the head.

"Please forgive him. We're not quite sure what's wrong with him, but we think it has something to do with Kevin dropping him as a baby", this time it was Kevin who slapped Nick upside the head.

Then I did something that surprised myself; I laughed. And honestly, it felt good. I hadn't actually laughed or even really smiled since my parents had told me we were moving and it was relieving to laugh.

"As I'm sure my parents have told you, I'm Lilly" I introduced myself, still smiling.

"And as I'm sure_you _know, I'm Joe"

"I'm Nick"

"And I'm Kevin"

I shook each of their hands in turn.

"So I have to ask, you just learned that you're living next door to a famous band and you've barely reacted. What gives?" Nick asked, obviously fazed by my composure.

I raised my eyebrow, "you actually want me to scream, jump up and down, and then pass out?" I asked them.

They all widened their eyes and shook their heads.

"No, this is fine. I only asked because it's a bit…unusual" Nick corrected, his eyes shrinking back to normal size. Again, I laughed.

"I'm kidding. Anyway, if you wanted a crazed fan girl you'd want to meet my best friend, Miley. She'll freak when she finds out you're my neighbors" I added the last part quietly, frowning once I started talking about Miley.

I still hadn't quite grasped the fact that she and Oliver weren't near by. I couldn't rush over to Miley's house and make a big deal that the Jonas Brothers are next door. I couldn't meet Oliver at Rico's where I'd probably gush about how cute all 3 of them were, and he'd just roll his eyes, but listen anyway.

They must have noticed that I was getting slightly upset, because each of them was wearing a concerned look on their face.

"Is everything ok?" Joe asked me.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Just a little homesick" I admitted, feeling comfortable enough to share what was on my mind.

"Where did you move from?" it was Kevin this time asking the question.

"Malibu"

Joe whistled, "You're a long way from home". Like I needed the reminder. But I let out a small laugh that accidentally sounded like a scoff,

"You're telling me" I said softly, looking to the floor.

The brothers shared a look before Nick took a step towards me,

"Hey, cheer up Lilly. You're going to love New Jersey" he promised me.

"And with the coolest guys on the planet around, you'll have so much fun, you won't even have time to think about how much you miss Malibu" Joe told me, puffing out his chest.

I giggled lightly and he smiled, "that's more like it".

I accidentally let a yawn escape, a product of the long flight, emotional wear and tear, and time differences. To sum it up in one word: jetlag.

Nick laughed, "I guess that's what a six hour plane trip does to you" he said.

"You wanna catch some z's before dinner? We'd understand" Joe offered. I shook my head,

"Nah. I'll live. But if you've got some caffeine somewhere in this house, that would be amazing" I hinted lightly, swaying slightly on the spot.

Nick and Joe laughed lightly, "I think the Starbucks King would be the correct person to ask" Joe told me, turning to look at Kevin. Kevin shook his head and rolled his eyes, "there's a Starbucks down the street, we can all walk down there and grab something" he suggested.

I inwardly let out a sigh of relief in my mind. At least this place had a Starbucks. Maybe that plus these guys would be enough to let me survive these next few years of my life. "Sounds fabulous," I told them, yawning yet again.

"MOM! DAD! WE'RE TAKING LILLY TO STARBUCKS!" Nick shouted at the top of his lungs. I winced at how loud his voice was. Miley's was too…I guess it had to do with being a singer.

"Make sure you're back before dinner! We'll be eating in about in hour!" an unfamiliar male voice called, I figured it was Mr. Jonas.

"And don't spoil your appetites!" I assumed that voice to belong to Mrs. Jonas.

"Mom, we're grabbing coffee, not hamburgers" Joe yelled in an exasperated voice.

"Whatever! Just go!" Mrs. Jonas shouted back in a similar tone. I guess I knew where he got it from…

The four of us walked out of the door and I followed them as they headed right, to where I assumed the Starbucks was. We walked for a few seconds in silence before the oldest brother spoke up,

"So tell us more about yourself Lilly" Kevin urged.

I looked towards him, "there isn't much to tell really. I'm certainly not a member of a famous band. Just a regular girl from California," I informed them.

Ok, so I know that wasn't exactly true. But what was I supposed to say? I'm the best friend of Hannah Montana, I've met the Rock, been to tons of cool celebrity parties, and oh yeah, I've actually met you before but you thought I was a guy? Yeah, that would fly well.

"Come on, no dark, secret past?" Joe guessed. I shook my head.

"No alter ego?" I smiled, but shook my head again.

"No missions to Tahiti to stop an evil squirrel from taking over the world?" The three of us stopped to give Joe a weird look.

"What? You never know…" he said, slouching his shoulders and continuing his way.

I sighed as I followed him, reforming the line we had been walking in, "sorry boys, but out of all the people who could have been your new neighbor, you got an ordinary, California girl who isn't ballistic over you" I told them with a sigh, mockingly shaking my head as if it were a shame.

"Eh, I think we can deal" Nick said, smiling.

"Pft, speak for yourself. I was totally counting on a super hero in disguise to move in to that house" Joe confessed, pouting dramatically.

I pushed him so that he stumbled off of the sidewalk. When he regained his balance he narrowed his eyes before slinging be over his shoulder, fireman style.

"Now, now. Is that anyway to treat your new friend?" he asked me, tsking at me in a very motherly fashion.

"JOSEPH JONAS! YOU PUT ME DOWN!" I shrieked, but feeling slightly happy that we were already so comfortable around each other.

Joe laughed loudly as the group started walking again, me still at Joe's mercy.

I stretched my neck to get a look at Kevin and Nick who were clearly enjoying this, but tried to hide their monstrous smiles when I looked up. Unsuccessfully of course.

"A little help here?" I asked them.

"No way. This is far too entertaining" Kevin said, a huge smile gracing his features.

"Well I'm glad somebody's enjoying it" I told him sarcastically. I then sighed and accepted the fact that I wasn't getting out of this situation anytime soon.

But despite being held against my will, I couldn't help but smile.

Maybe New Jersey wouldn't be so bad after all.

**oOoOoOoOo**

**I hope that didn't feel too rushed. And sorry it took so long for me to update, my week was hectic. What with projects, auditioning for the school musical (I'm a Lost Boy… or girl… in Peter Pan by the way, not a speaking part but I'm still pleased) so it's been difficult to update. I'll try to do my best though. Reviews are totally appreciated!**

_I don't own Hannah Montana or the Jonas Brothers…or Starbucks._


	3. 20 Questions and Interrogations

_Despite being held against my will, I couldn't help but smile._

_  
Maybe New Jersey wouldn't be so bad after all._

We continued down the sidewalk for a bit, me still slung over Joe's shoulder. Why he hadn't put me down yet was completely beyond me. I had known him for a half an hour and I already figured that I was probably better off if I didn't know what was going on through his head.

Nick and Kevin had moved to Joe's sides, and I was forced to listen to the three of them babble on about their tour which was coming up in a few months.

After hearing about their plans for decking out their tour bus, my head began to pound and spots were starting to appear in front of my eyes.

"Hey Joe?"

"Yeah?"

"Not that I'm not enjoying this scenic view of the ground or anything, but can I get down now?" I asked him.

"And why would I let you do that?" This boy was starting to get on my nerves.

"I don't know, maybe because all of the blood has been rushing to my head for the past 10 minutes and I'm starting to see spots" I informed him sarcastically.

The next minute, I saw Kevin's face appear next to mine. He laughed. "She's right Joe; I think you should let her down. Her face is looking kind of reddish-purpley"

I heard Nick and Joe both laugh as well as we stopped moving and my world was promptly put right side up.

"Sorry Lily, kinda forgot you were up there" he apologized dumbly. I was going to respond, but my blood had begun to flow in the opposite direction, and the moment I tried to take I step, I stumbled and fell in to Nick.

"Watch yourself there" he commented as he gently pushed me back up to stand on my feet. He kept a hand on my shoulder to steady me while I became accustomed to standing. I swayed for a few seconds before regaining my composure.

I placed my hand to my head before turning to Joe, "you forgot I was up there? That is the lamest excuse I have ever heard." I told him blatantly.

"How do you forget that you have a person slung over your shoulder?" Nick inquired, laughing lightly at the entire situation.

Joe simply shrugged; "she's light" was all he said before walking towards the Starbucks which was now about 10 feet in front of us.

I smiled before following him in to the store.

When I stepped in, I had to admit that I was impressed. While the size wasn't comparable to that of the one in Malibu, it had a very chic feel to it. Cozy and inviting. I liked it.

The four of us walked up to the counter and ordered our drinks. I of course got my usual, the white chocolate mocha. Despite it being summer, I was totally in need of a hot coffee.

As we waited for our drinks to be made, I busied myself with searching for my wallet. Being the responsible girl that I am, I always tried to carry my wallet with me, seeing as next to my cell phone, that thing basically held my life. I began to freak when I realized that I obviously hadn't bothered to unpack it before coming out, and it wasn't like I was going to take it on the plane with me. What was I going to need money for on a plane thousands of feet about ground?

"Shit" I moaned as I rubbed my temple.

"What's up?" Kevin asked me, furrowing his brow ever so slightly.

"I left my money at home" I confessed, feeling totally embarrassed. Nick and Joe must have been listening in because both of them laughed.

"Are you serious?" Joe asked amusedly. I looked at him confused.

"That's what you're worried about?" Nick added on. Still confused.

"We'll totally pay. In fact, we were planning on paying the entire time" the middle Jonas told me.

I bit my lip slightly, a habit of mine that I found impossible to shake, "are you sure?" I was one of those people that found it hard to just accept things like that.

"Lily, it's like a three dollar cup of coffee. I think we can spare it" Kevin insisted, shaking his head lightly.

"Thanks" I told them, beaming slightly. Within a few minutes we heard our orders being called and saw four drinks being placed on the end counter. With coffee in hand, we made our way to a table in the back. It was slightly secluded, which I liked. Needless to say, Starbucks in any state is usually packed and today was no excuse.

"So Lily…" Nick started off. I took a sip of my coffee and felt instantly better.

"Mmhm?" I answered simply. I was hoping this wasn't going to turn in to 20 questions, but I had a feeling that it would.

"You probably know a little bit more about us then we do about you, so why don't you enlighten us?" he urged.

"Didn't we go through this while we were walking here? I'm not as interesting as you'd like to think. Anything I tell you will probably bore you to death"

"I doubt that" Joe commented, smiling. I don't know why, but I felt my cheeks burn slightly.

"Come on. We promise to not fall asleep on you. We really do want to get to know you better" Nick urged yet again.

"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you"

The three brothers leaned forward as I began to tell my life story.

When I was done, they just sat there and stared at me. I twirled my empty cup nervously, glancing between them.

"What?" I finally asked.

"You're not as dull as you made it out to be" Kevin finally said. It was with that that they snapped out of it and were back in reality.

"Yeah, you were making it sound like you grew up on a farm and all you did was tend to the animals or something" Nick said with a laugh.

"You need to learn to give yourself some credit. You're actually quite interesting" Joe added.

"Um…good to know…?" I said uncertainly. We now sat in a slightly awkward silence until Nick checked his watch and announced that we should be heading back for dinner.

Our walk back to their…our street, was just about the same as the walk there. Minus Joe holding my hostage for 10 minutes straight of course.

When we entered the Jonas residence, we were greeted by something that smelled absolutely amazing.

"Oh kids, good, you're home. Just in time too. Dinner's on the table" a woman, who I assumed to be Mrs. Jonas said, walking past us and in to another room. The boys automatically followed their mom, and after a moment of hesitation, I followed as well.

In the room was a fair sized dining table with 9 places set out. I was about to question who the 9th seat was for when another boy rushed in to the room.

I guessed that he was around 9 or 10 years old and due to his dark hair and equally dark eyes, I assumed that he was Kevin, Joe and Nick's little brother. My thoughts were interrupted when I felt something poke me.

I looked down slightly to see the boy standing in front of me, smiling widely.

"Hi! I'm Frankie. You must be the person who's living next door to us. Lola isn't it?" I practically choked on myself. Funny how references to my alter ego just kept popping up. Nick seemed to be the only one who noticed my odd reaction. I quickly recomposed myself.

"Um actually, it's Lily" I corrected him.

"Oh, I like that better anyway. Sorry though. Nice to meet you Lily" he said, sticking out his hand. I took it and shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you too Frankie"

We were quickly joined by my parents and Mr. Jonas, and we all took our seats at the table. I found myself sitting with Kevin on my right and Nick on my left. Joe was on the other side of Nick, who was then followed by the Jonas parents, my parents and then the circle was finished with Frankie, sitting on Nick's immediate left.

"So Lily, we've heard so much about you" Mrs. Jonas started off. I inwardly sighed. To be quite honest, I wasn't a big fan of small talk. It was rather pointless. But I would just have to grin and bear it.

"Is that so?" I questioned, plastering a smile on my face. For some reason, that feeling of misplacement that had disappeared earlier was now making a grand reentrance and I suddenly felt uncomfortable.

The meal went on in a similar fashion. Question and answer. Most of the talking was directed my way, but I felt relieved whenever someone would ask my parents something. That usually got the adults off on some subject and allowed me a few minutes to breath.

When dinner was over, Kevin and Joe had been roped in to washing the dishes, but Nick and I walked outside and sat on the front porch. I had to admit that the New Jersey night sky was gorgeous.

The area where we now lived wasn't a very city like, which meant the sky was speckled with hundreds of stars, a very comforting sight in my eyes.

"Sorry about the whole interrogation thing during dinner. My parents think their being polite and conversational, but it's just annoying" Nick said, apologizing on their behalf.

I laughed lightly, "don't worry, it's no big deal" I assured him.

"So be honest with me Lily, what do you think of it here. Don't hold back" I walked out on to their yard and lied down on the grass, Nick following suit and lying next to me.

"Honestly?" I asked. He nodded.

"It's definitely different. I'm not saying I don't like it, because it's really nice. It's just…I'm not sure if it's ever going to feel like home" I paused for a second, relieved when Nick stayed silent, allowing me to continue.

"I lived in Malibu my entire life. 17 years of existence I spent in that one place, in that exact same house. For 17 years I was surrounded by familiar faces. It was the type of place where you could walk down the street and know everybody's name, and everybody knew yours. I'm not saying that I'll never get used to this place, and I'll never love it. I just don't think it will ever be home. At least not for awhile I don't think".

There was a moment of silence between us while Nick processed everything.

"I can't imagine what this is like for you. I mean, I'm in the same boat as you…kind of. I've lived here forever, and I just can't even think about what it would be like to pack up and leave forever. It's gotta be tough".

My eyes stung slightly as I thought back to Malibu. I missed it so much, and I had no idea when I'd ever go back. As I looked around me I realized how unfamiliar everything was, and I didn't like it. I hated not being able to name every person that lived in every house that I could see. I hated not knowing where each of the streets led, and I had to admit to myself, I was scared.

"Lily" we both turned to see my parents standing on the porch.

"I think it's time we headed home. You must be exhausted" my dad commented, walking towards us.

Nick stood up first and extended his hand to me to help pull me up, "see you tomorrow I guess?" he said uncertainly.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow" I confirmed, letting a tiny smile slip as I walked back to my house.

When I got inside, I instantly walked up to my room without a word to my parents. I grabbed the blow up mattress my mom had put up here earlier and the blankets that lay next to it. Without bothering to actually make the bed, I simply threw the covers on top of me, only stopping to kick off my shoes. I climbed on to the make shift bed and fell asleep almost immediately.

After what felt like a pathetic 10 minutes of sleep, I was instantly awoken by the sound of a crash from downstairs followed by yelling.

Oh no.

**oOoOoOoOo**

**Mwahahaha! I've had the idea for the next chapter in my head for like…ever. Sorry it took so long for me to update, but I hope you liked it. I guess it was kind of a filler, but I did my best on it :o)**

**Next chapter is way more eventful I promise. And I also have the pairing all picked out, I'm just not gonna tell you. So review please! Maybe that will make me update faster!  
**

**Oh, and also sorry if Frankie's age is screwed up compared to the advancement I've given the other brothers. Don't kill me!**

_I don't own Hannah Montana, the Jonas Brothers or Starbucks (dang)_


	4. Not So Perfect

_After what felt like a pathetic 10 minutes of sleep, I was instantly awoken by the sound of a crash from downstairs followed by yelling._

_Oh no._

I bolted up from my bed and crept towards my door. I cracked it open slightly to hear what was going on below me.

"DAMMIT MICHAEL! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD BE SO SELFISH! CAN'T YOU SEE SHE HATES IT HERE?" my mother's voice yelled loudly.

"SELFISH!? HOW DARE YOU CALL ME SELFISH! I SACRIFICED EVERYTHING FOR THIS PROMOTION. AND THIS PROMOTION WAS FOR ALL OF US! YOU ME AND LILY!" my dad responded, equally as loud.

"OH YEAH? WELL YOU'RE DOING A GREAT JOB OF HELPING HER THEN. DRAGGING HER ACROSS THE COUNTRY, LEAVING HER FRIENDS BEHIND! I'M SURE SHE'S SO THANKFUL!"

"SINCE WHEN HAVE YOU KNOWN WHAT'S GOING ON IN LILY'S HEAD ANYWAY? IT'S NOT AS IF YOU EVER TALK TO HER! HOW WOULD YOU KNOW SHE HATES IT HERE?"

"OH PLEASE! WEREN'T YOU LISTENING TO WHAT SHE WAS SAYING TO THAT JONAS BOY?! SHE MISSES HOME! SHE MISSES OLIVER AND MILEY! SHE DOESN'T WANT TO BE HERE! AND BECAUSE OF YOU AND YOUR DAMN CAREER SHE'LL NEVER BE HAPPY NOW!" 

I slammed the door shut when I heard the harsh ringing of flesh hitting flesh.

They were fighting again. And worse off, they were fighting about me. I hated it when they did this. They always fought.

I felt tears begin to flow down my cheeks as I slid down the door, their yelling still audible through the door. Even though I couldn't quite make out exactly what they were saying, I could pick out pieces of the fight. Most pieces were my name.

You see, for the past year or so my parents had been fighting more and more. At first it was just little squabbles over things like cleaning and cooking. But as weeks and months passed, the arguments became more and more intense, until finally my dad announced that we were moving and the arguments became full blown fights.

I placed my head between my knees and wished for the yelling to stop, but of course, it didn't. The worst part of all of this was I realized that I had nowhere to go. Oliver was the only person in the entire world who knew about my parents fighting. I hadn't even planned on telling him.

But one night when the fight had gotten so bad, I had snuck out of the window and ran to his house where I had proceeded to break down and tell him everything that was happening. Ever since, I would go to his house every time a fight broke out.

But now Oliver was hundreds of miles away, and he couldn't help me.

I felt completely desperate and alone. That is, until I felt something digging in to my thigh, remembering my cell phone which was still in my pocket,

I dug it out and was fully prepared to press speed dial number 1, Oliver, until I noticed that my phone wasn't on, and wouldn't turn on.

I hurled the cell at the wall, furious that I hadn't remembered to charge it earlier. My phone had the worst battery ever, and while it had been almost full earlier today, it was now dead.

I began to panic, I couldn't just sit here and listen to them fight. With everything that I knew about them, this could last for hours. My panic increased when I remembered that the only landline currently hooked up, was downstairs in the kitchen, or at least that was what mom had told me earlier today.

I was screwed.

I sure as hell couldn't go downstairs to use the phone. Mom and dad would drag me in to their fight, forcing me to side with one of them. And chances are, I'd end up getting hurt one way or another. The last time I had accidentally wandered in during a fight, my dad had slapped me for being stubborn.

My tears came out faster as the screaming became louder and words were easier to make out. I pressed my hands against my ears trying to block it all out while I continued to desperately think of a way to get out of here.

Finally, the answer came to me like…like I don't know, but it came and I felt relieved. I crept over to the window and opened it all the way. I was pleased (well as pleased as I could be while my parents fought about me) that there was a trellis under my window. A metal one at that.

But my mood darkened when I saw the rain pouring from the sky. That was just so typical. The one time I need to get out of the house like I need to breathe, its pouring rain. Fate must hate me or something.

I took a deep breath to calm myself down so I could focus. I watched my footing carefully and climbed from the window, in to the rain and down the trellis to the ground. After a few minutes, my feet touched the yard and I sprinted next door.

I knocked on the door rapidly, praying to God that they wouldn't question me too far.

It was Kevin who answered the door, looking very confused as he took in my appearance. I must have looked like hell.

"Can I use your phone?" I asked him. He must have noticed how vulnerable I was, because without another word he ushered me in to the house and towards the landline which was in their kitchen.

I snatched up the phone and dialed my best friend's number with lightening speed.

"Hello?" a voice asked on the other line after a few rings. You have no idea how good it felt to hear his voice.

"Oliver? It's me…Lily" I told him. My voice must have not been very recognizable seeing as I was choking on tears.

"Oh my god, Lils! What…what's wrong?" his voice had gone from happy to concerned in record time. God bless him for being able to read me like a book, even over the phone and so far apart.

"They're at it again Ollie" I whimpered. I heard him mutter a soft "oh no" as I literally broke down.

"What was it about this time?" he asked me carefully.

"Me" was all I answered. I looked around the room to see that Kevin had left me alone. Man, I loved those boys already.

"Lily, just breathe. Everything's going to be ok. I promise. Just breathe deeply, calm down" he told me in a soothing way.

I did as he instructed, but found my breaths coming in ragged and short.

"Oliver, I just wish you could be here. I miss you so much and I…I can't do this on my own."

"You're not on your own. I might not be right next to you, but I am here. So let's just get your mind off of it for now. How's New Jersey?" he asked me, completely changing the subject. I would normally get mad at him for doing that, but he knows me well enough to know that getting me to think about something else is better than trying to mediate me through the problem.

"Ok I guess. It's no Malibu that's for sure. But it's nice. My neighbors are really nice" I said, trying to talk through my tears.

"Oh yeah? Who are they?" Oliver asked, leading me as far away from the topic of my parents as possible.

"Their names are Kevin, Joe and Nick. They've also got a little brother, Frankie" I told him.

"Wait, aren't those the names of those Jonas guys?" Oliver actually knew who they were?

"You've heard of them?" I asked incredulously.

"Well it's hard not to know about them when they were all you and Miley talked about throughout the entire 9th grade" I laughed. Oliver was probably the only person on this earth that could make me laugh at a time like this.

"Right. But yeah, those are the ones"

"You're so lying to me" he accused. I could just see him narrowing his eyes at the phone.

"Not a chance. I'll prove it to you when you come down here." The thought of Oliver coming soon was very comforting.

"Sure, we'll see about that. And when the only people living next to you are a bunch of wackjobs who think their super models, I'll expect you to be prepared for a big old 'I told you so'" he informed me. I laughed again.

I frowned when I heard Oliver's mom in the background "Oliver! Get off of the phone and go to sleep! You've got soccer camp in the morning! You can talk to whoever it is on the other line tomorrow!"

I felt my stomach clench, great, Oliver had to go. I guess I'd just have to handle this one on my own. Great.

"I…I'm sorry Lily, I have to head out. I'm sure everything will be just fine. Just relax and breathe. Stay calm. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"I should go too", I said with a sad sigh, "I'm probably racking up the Jonas's phone bill" although I didn't want, in any way, to hang up.

"You're using their phone?"

"My cell died and I couldn't go downstairs" I told him. I heard a small 'oh' muttered. Obviously I wasn't the only one who remembered what happened the last time I had gotten in to one of their fights.

"Stay strong Lils. I love you" I gave a small smile.

"Love you too Ollie".

With that I hit the end button on the phone and placed it back in its cradle. I wandered out of the kitchen and in to the family room where the three brothers sat talking quietly to each other.

Their heads shot up when I walked in and they came towards me. Without bothering to talk and with one look at me, Joe was the first to hug me tightly. They each followed suit and then lead me to the couch. Nick and Joe sat on either side of me while Kevin kneeled in front of me.

"What's going on Lily? You can trust us" he said carefully, not wanting to upset me any further.

I thought about it for a minute. I had managed to keep it a secret from some of my closest friends, so was I really about to tell some guys that I had simply met earlier that day?

But then I thought to how I was in an unfamiliar place, no Oliver, no nothing. I had to tell them or else no one would be able to help me.

"It's…it's my parents" I told them softly.

"What about them?" Nick asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"They were…fighting again" I confessed, wiping away a few stray tears from under my eyes.

"Fighting?" Joe asked, not quite understanding.

"Again?" Kevin also questioned, since this was obviously news to them.

"They've been doing it a lot lately. They were fighting about me and h-how the move is effecting me. They were yelling and screaming, and I-I think my dad hit my mom" I explained weakly, a fresh round of tears coming.

The boys shared an incredulous look and I knew exactly what they were thinking. My parents always acted so perfect. Like the picture perfect couple from Pleasantville. But that was hardly the case. Sure there were a lot of times when we were all a great family, but it just so happened that they didn't exactly see eye to eye on some things.

I could also tell that this was slightly awkward for them, and they weren't quite sure what to do. But that quickly vanished when I let a small sob escape.

Joe instinctively wrapped his arms around me, Nick proceeded to rub my back and Kevin placed his hand on my knee, giving it a small squeeze.

"Do you want to stay here for the night?" Kevin asked, looking at me. I met his gaze with wide eyes.

"Would that be ok?" The last thing I wanted to do was impose.

"Of course, it wouldn't be a problem. But seeing as you're soaking wet, we should probably get you changed first" Nick suggested.

Without another word, Joe bounded up the stairs and returned with a pair of sweats and a Jonas Brothers shirt, which were both fairly oversized on my petite frame, but I appreciated it none the less. I slipped in to one of their bathrooms and changed.

Once I was all set they showed me to their guest room, which was just a bit away from each of their rooms.

"And if you need us, don't be afraid to come and get us" each of them had pounded this on me multiple times.

After I had told them for the billionth time that I would, they each bade goodnight and headed to their rooms. That is, except for Joe, who stayed behind a bit longer.

I situated myself in the bed and looked up to see him standing their, just looking at me. I patted the spot next to the bed and he came and sat next to me.

"You know, I don't quite get it" I admitted to him as I sat up and crossed my legs in front of me.

"What don't you get?" he asked, clearly confused.

"You guys have known me for what…8 hours? And already you're treating me as if we've known each other our entire lives. I mean, I just met you today and you're letting me stay overnight. What gives?" This was something that had been bothering me ever since they had offered to let me spend the night.

Joe thought for a moment before leaning back.

"There's just something about you. We've all clicked so easily with you, and like you said, we haven't known you all that long but we feel like we've known you forever. And with the whole staying overnight thing, it's not as if we could just send you back home. I mean, that's what friends are for isn't it? To be there for each other?" he explained. Surprisingly enough I knew exactly where he was coming from.

But when he said the word 'friends' I couldn't help but smile. A few hours and we were already friends.

"Yeah, I guess that is what friends are for" I said, leaning back in to the pillows. I sighed deeply and began to close my eyes.

"Hey Joe?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you so much. You're the best" Even though my eyes were closed, I knew he was smiling.

He laughed, "I know"

**oOoOoOoOo**

**I'm pretty sure that's the longest chapter I've ever written, and I wrote it in like 20 minutes! Go me! Anyway, I hope you liked this one, I had the plan for it forever. I hope that the relationship between the 4 isn't moving to fast, but you all probably know what it's like when you meet someone and you feel like you've known them forever. It's that kind of thing for them. Reviews are totally appreciated :o)**

_I don't own Hannah Montana or the Jonas Brothers_


	5. Morning After

"_Thank you so much. You're the best" Even though my eyes were closed, I knew he was smiling. _

_He laughed, "I know"_

The next morning I woke up completely confused. For the first 2 or so minutes of consciousness I could not for the life of me figure out where I was or what I was doing there.

That was at least until I looked next to me to see none other than Joe Jonas sleeping away, then it all came rushing back to me.

I sighed as I sat up in the bed and turned my head again to look at Joe. I couldn't help but think about how sweet it was that he had stayed the entire night with me, despite the fact that he had most likely fallen asleep very shortly after me. It was still very comforting.

I stretched my arms as I glanced at the clock that sat on the bedside table on the other side of the bed to 6:26 in bright red numbers. I suppressed a groan, stupid school adjusted sleep schedule. The school year hadn't ended all that long ago, so I supposed that me waking up this early was somewhat related to the fact that this was almost exactly when I would wake up for school.

Then again, it also could have been related to restlessness caused by last nights…adventures.

Either way really.

Figuring it was useless to try and fall back asleep; I carefully climbed out of bed so not to wake Joe up, and made my way out of the room.

I walked through the hall and down the stairs to what I thought would be an empty main floor. I mean, who gets up at 6:30 in the morning during summer?

So I guess that exact thought was why I shrieked when I heard, "morning sleepy head" from the kitchen.

I jumped and quickly spun around to see Kevin looking at me, smiling broadly. I let out a breath that I hadn't realized I was holding.

"Jeeze, are you trying to send me to an early grave?" I asked him shrilly. He simply shrugged.

I shook my head and made my way over to the kitchen where I proceeded to sit at one of the stools at the kitchen counter. I turned so that I was facing the eldest Jonas.

"What are you doing up this early anyway?" I asked him, swiveling the chair from left to right with my feet.

"I could ask you the same thing" he reminded me.

"Touché. But I asked first, so spill"

"I'm just a morning person, what can I say? It's practically routine. I wake up early, and then 2 or 3 hours later, everyone else wakes up. And you?" he explained, walking over to the brewing coffee.

"Same deal I guess. I'm always up early. There's been many a night where I don't even sleep"

He nodded and handed me a mug of coffee. I smiled in response, taking it from him and wrapping my hands around it.

"So um, how are you doing Lily?" he asked cautiously.

I bit my lip and looked down at the black liquid. After a moment's silence, I looked up at him. I sighed deeply before talking.

"I've been better" I told him, just to put it simply. He studied me for a second.

"Listen Lily, I know that we haven't known you very long, but I want you to know that if anything like that ever happens again, you're always welcome here" he told me with a serious look on his face.

I smiled at him lightly, "thanks Kevin; that really means a lot to me".

He nodded in response before sipping from his coffee.

"So are your parents going to be mad when you get home?" he asked, being careful to choose his words wisely.

I let out a small laugh,

"Mad? No. Pissed? Yes." I told him, tilting my head to the side.

"Usually I leave a note or something so they won't worry. But last night I was in such a rush to get out of there that I didn't remember, plus they always assume I'm at Oliver's house. But since we're in a brand new place, although I'm sure they'll first think to look here if I don't go back soon enough, they're still probably worrying their heads off" I explained to him.

I recognized the worried expression on his face, and smiled lightly.

"Relax Kev. The fights and anger only last through the night. They'll just be glad that I'm safe once I get back over there. The worst that will happen is a stern talking to and possibly grounded, or something along those lines. Just because they fight… a lot, doesn't mean that they don't react like regular parents" I explained to him, touched by his concern.

"Speaking of parents" I started, a thought suddenly hitting me, "where are yours anyway? And Frankie?" I asked, realizing that over the course of the night, the only people in the Jonas household I'd encountered had been the three brothers.

"Asleep. Frankie has an early bedtime and mom and dad were out pretty early last night – long day I suppose" he told me, shrugging his shoulders lightly.

"Are they going to care that I spent the night here?" I asked him, biting my lip.

He shook his head, his hair falling in to his eyes, "nah. They seemed to like you a lot, and especially when the get the entire situation, I'm sure they'll be fine with it"

"So why were you three up so late?" I asked, he laughed in response.

"What is this? 20 questions?"

I rolled my eyes, "so I'm a little curious, sue me" I answered, silently urging him to answer my earlier question.

"We were working on a new song. We were all just inspired yesterday, and once we get going, it's hard to stop us." He told me. I nodded and sipped my coffee, but I had to admit, my curiosity was now peaked. Being somewhat of an aspiring musician myself, I couldn't help but wonder about the works of the famous Jonas Brothers.

Not to mention I was more then a little bit relieved that the subject was no longer on me and my fairly suck-y excuse for a family. It's not that I hated my family or anything, it's just…you know, complicated.

"Care to elaborate?" I questioned him, tilting my head to the side slightly.

"On what? The song?" he specified, and I nodded my head.

"Well there's not much to say. We got a chorus down, but that's about it" he told me, shrugging his shoulders.

"What's it about?"

"My, you are an intuitive person aren't you?" Kevin joked, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards.

I simply rolled my eyes, my own lips forming a smile. "Just answer the question and I'll be done. Then you can go do whatever it is you do at 7 in the morning" I urged.

He thought for a moment before smiling very slyly, "you'll just have to wait until the next album comes out". And with that, he proceeded to down the contents of his mug, set it on the counter, and after he released a small chuckle at the reaction on my face (scrunched up in annoyance) he bounded up the stairs.

"You're so funny!" I called after him, not being able to help but laugh a little bit.

As I sat alone in the Jonas' kitchen, I still couldn't help but be amazed at the bizarreness of the situation.

Oh well though, it's not as if I had anything to complain about. Well, at least not with my situation at hand.

I glanced over at the microwave, which showed the time in neon green lights. I let out a deep sigh, figuring that now would be as good a time as any to go back home. Without a doubt, my parents would be up and worried, so it would be best to ease their minds and get it over with.

I drank the last few sips of my coffee and placed the mug beside Kevin's. Just as I was headed out of the kitchen, I noticed a sticky notes pad and pen lying on the counter and decided to write a quick note to the Jonas'.

I'm not quite sure what possessed me to do that. I highly doubted they'd be overly concerned that I had already left. Maybe a bit surprised, but it's not like they'd call the cops to file a missing person file or anything.

But still, a quick note wouldn't cause any damage either.

_Kev, Joe and Nick,_

_Decided it would be best to head back home and get it over with. Better now then later. I'll see you guys later. Thanks again._

_Oh, and by the way, just incase you'd need to reach me, my cell number is 555-8520_

_Lilly_

Feeling more satisfied, I placed the pad in a more convenient place so they'd be sure to find it.

I made my way out the door and across the lawn between our houses. When I reached the front door, I took a deep breath before turning the handle and entering.

Hardly to my surprise, I found my mom sitting on the couch that faced the door, the paper spread out in front of her and her coffee mug beside her.

When she heard the door shut, her head shot up to look at me. Her face went from tired, to worried, to relieved, to angry in about 3 seconds. I was musing about how impressive that had been when she spoke.

"Lillian Rose Truscott, where on Earth have you been?"

**A/N: Wow, you guys must just hate me right about now. It's been AGES since I last updated, and I apologize profusely. I also apologize that this chapter was pretty short, but I felt it my duty to let you know I was still alive. Reviews are always appreciated, next chapter will be longer (and hopefully up sooner then this was).**

**Thanks to all who stuck with me until this chapter :o)**

**-Erin**


	6. Designers and Tour Guides

"Lillian Rose Truscott, where on Earth have you been

"_Lillian Rose Truscott, where on Earth have you been?"_

She spoke these words as she rose to her feet, crossing her arms across her chest in the process.

I gave her a nervous smile, "hi mom".

Her eyes narrowed at me, not in a threatening way, but in a "you're going to be grounded 'til your 85 way". I bit my lip, waiting for her to speak.

"Hi mom? You disappear all night without a word and all you have to say is hi mom?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Lilly, you know better then to just leave the house without at least leaving a note or something. Your father and I were worried sick about you."

"Yeah, after you took a moment from screaming at each other to notice I was missing" I mumbled to the ground.

"What was that?" she asked, I lifted my head to look at her.

"The only reason I left was to get away from you and dad fighting" I shot, a hint of iciness in my voice.

I couldn't help but notice that my mother looked somewhat shocked at this. It's not as if she thought I didn't know about the fighting, but I tended to avoid confrontation of the subject. Needless to say, this was somewhat uncharted territory for both of us.

Her eyes softened a bit as she registered the glare in my eyes.

"Honey, listen…"

"No mom, I…I can't take it anymore. I just…I can't stand hearing you two yell at each other" I had no idea where this courage was coming from, but I couldn't stop it. My mouth just kept going while my mind desperately told it to shut the hell up.

"I thought that the move to New Jersey might offer a fresh start. That maybe the three of us starting over together would let you two have a better chance, but I was wrong".

My mom took a step closer to me as she pulled me in to a hug. I could have resisted, but it just wasn't worth it.

"Lilly I am so sorry that we've put you in this position. We're trying, we really are. We love you, you know" she told me softly, "we never meant to hurt or upset you"

I nodded my head against her shoulder, "I know. It's just…hard". She kissed the top of my head before pulling away. She looked me right in the eyes,

"Everything is going to be fine" she reassured me. Although the tight feeling in my stomach told me that that was probably a lie, I nodded my head.

"But, don't think that this gets you off the hook for last night. Where were you?" she asked as certain sternness returned in her eyes. Although it wasn't as intense as it had been a few minutes ago, it was there nonetheless.

"I went next door to the Jonas's" I told her, my voice becoming smaller again.

My mom looked me over carefully, noticing the Jonas Brothers shirt Joe had given me last night. She seemed to believe my story (which was of course, 100 true) and her face softened again.

"Alright then. But the least you could have done was called us, or left us a note, or given us something to let us know you were okay" she reminded me. I nodded in response,

"I know, I kind of…forgot" I admitted sheepishly, feeling somewhat stupid. Why hadn't I thought to jot down a quick note? This whole confrontation would have been much less awkward if they had known where I was.

"Well, I'm sure you saw this coming, but I'm going to have to ground you…1 week. No cell phone, no computer, no iPod" I dropped my head. It didn't sound like much, but those three things were basically my life, especially my iPod.

When she saw my defeated expression, she sighed and added a few more things.

"But," my head shot up, "that will start tomorrow so you can give Oliver and Miley a heads up. Plus, you will still be aloud to see the Jonas boys, but they will have to come here" she said, a small smile playing on her lips.

So my mother wasn't totally ruthless, that I was thankful for.

I nodded in agreement before kissing her on the cheek and heading for the stairs.

As I entered my new room, I figured that my grounding wouldn't be all bad. In the time that I was restrained to the house, I could work on my room. Plus, I could recruit Nick, Kevin and Joe to help me, seeing as my mother was kind enough to still let me see them.

As I studied my room, I spotted my cell phone laying abandoned on the floor; I sighed and picked it up. I noticed that there was a slight scratch on the top from when I had thrown it at the wall – I was an idiot.

After I had spent 10 minutes looking for my phone charger and had plugged it in, I changed out of Joe's oversized clothes. I pulled on a pair of shorts, a plain American Eagle t-shirt and my Seaview High sweatshirt.

I frowned as I examined myself in the mirror, realizing that I was no longer a Seaview Pirate. 3 months from now, after summer break was over, I'd be something else. I swallowed deeply as I tugged at the blue sweatshirt, also taking note that it still smelled like Oliver's house. I had half a thought to take it off and leave it preserved, wanting to keep it the way it was, afraid that I may never be back in the Oken's house again.

Before I could let my mind go any further into the move towards depression, I shook my head and walked out of my room. I thought about grabbing Joe's clothes, since I was heading over there, but as an afterthought, I decided to keep them. They were super comfy.

I climbed down the stairs to find that my dad had joined my mom in the living room. I walked towards the door carefully, fearing that any wrong move might push my grounding to today and I wouldn't get to thank Joe, Nick and Kevin.

"Where are you going Lilly?" my dad asked out of nowhere. I winced – so close! Just a few more feet and I would have been home free.

"I'm going to go over to the Jonas's for a little. My grounding doesn't start until tomorrow…" I added on the end quietly. I bit my lip slightly as the three of us stood in an awkward silence.

"Right then, don't stay too late" he said, lifting an eyebrow.

I left the house and closed the door with a sigh of relief. Mom had talked to him before I came down – good. That meant that one, dad wouldn't be as tough on me and two, I wouldn't have to go over the whole "I hate that you fight" speech. That had been like a one time thing anyway.

I strode across the lawn to the house next door. Part of me felt like I'd be spending a lot of time here, and I was okay with that.

Since I had only known them for like a day, I didn't feel as though I had hit the "don't bother knocking, just come in" stage, therefore, I tapped my knuckles on the door and stood waiting for a few moments.

The door opened to reveal one curly haired rock star who smiled and moved out of the way as a signal to come in.

"Morning", I said, surprisingly perkier then I thought I'd be. I guess I had somewhat of a reason to be in a partial good mood. Despite having stayed out all night in a strange town without my parents knowing, I had slid by with 2 weeks grounding. Granted, I had pulled a major sympathy card (and rightly so!), but still, I had expected much worse.

"Good to see that someone's in a better mood now" Nick pointed out, a smile also gracing his features.

"Yeah, well, I've definitely been better, but I think I'm headed off to a good start" I said, planting myself on the couch in their living room. Nick moved to sit next to me and we were soon joined by the second oldest Jonas brother.

"She lives!" he said, throwing his hands up in the air at the sight of me. Joe sat down on the other side of me, "so how'd things go this morning?" he asked, switching over to a more concerned personality.

"Better then expected" I told them, glancing between them, "I'm grounded for two weeks; no cell, no computer, no iPod and no leaving the house" I explained my sentence to them, "but I all of that starts tomorrow and I'll still be allowed to have visitors" I finished with a nod of my head.

"What are you going to do for two weeks?" Nick asked, somewhat astounded by the restrictions. I figured the things I had listed were about as important to him as they were to me and he wasn't quite sure how I'd survive without them.

"I was thinking I'd redecorate my room. It's looking somewhat drab, and I've been told I can do whatever I want to it", with this, Joe seemed to perk up.

"Oh, we are so in!" he said enthusiastically. Nick and I exchanged a glance before looking back over at Joe,

"What? We're still aloud to see her and it's not like we've got anything better to do" he said with a shrug of his shoulders.

My stomach did mini flip flops at his words; he still wanted to hang out with me; and by the look on Nick's face, he did too. And of course the talking Kevin and I had done this morning gave me the notion that I hadn't seen the last of him either. It made me feel better then I had in days that I hadn't scared them off with my overly dramatic life.

"Plus I'm an interior design kind of guy. I've got ideas" he spread his hands out in front of him the way people do when they're envisioning some sort of space design.

I giggled lightly, "fine, you guys can help; but no Jonas Brothers posters" I told them firmly. Joe slumped slightly on the couch, "well there goes my entire idea" he told us glumly. I simply shook my head while I created a mental picture of my new room covered completely in JB posters; I let out a small laugh.

"In the mean time though," Nick started, breaking us out of our visions, "we still have today to hang out. So what are you up for?" he asked, turning towards me. I looked between the two brothers,

"Feel like showing me around town?" I offered as an idea. Joe and Nick shared a glance,

"Sounds good!" Joe exclaimed hopping up from the couch, "KEVIN! We're showing Lilly around town! Hurry up if you want to come!" he called at a volume I didn't know was possible. Within seconds the sound of stomping feet came from the stairs and the eldest brothers appeared.

"Let's head out" he said moving straight towards the door. Nick stood up and offered me his hand, which I accepted, and he pulled me up from my seat. The Jonas's had a very comfy couch.

The four of us headed down the street in the same direction we had gone yesterday, towards the Starbucks. But we passed the small shop and continued on to what I figured was the downtown area of Wyckoff.

As we neared the bustling area (well, at least more bustling then the suburb like neighborhood), I couldn't help but compare it to Malibu. This was certainly nothing next to the rows of shops, cafes and stores that lined the familiar area, but as we got closer, I knew it wasn't a bad difference.

Despite the fact that you couldn't see the ocean 20 feet in front of you, it was a fair size that offered lots of possibilities.

My heart warmed as I spotted familiar stores that I thought I may need to travel more to find: Hollister, American Eagle, Abercrombie and Fitch, there was even a Panera settled on one of the street corners.

To be honest, this was a surprise to me. When I had first heard "we're moving to Wyckoff" and after I had figured out where that was, I had immediately begun to picture what my new life to be; and I wasn't one bit happy. I had imagined my crowded streets of familiar faces turning into abandoned, old times shops with names I've never heard of. For some reason I had imagined this small, intimate little suburbia that only held family owned businesses and was duller then I could handle. But as I scanned the downtown area, it seemed…bearable.

"Welcome to downtown Wyckoff" Kevin announced in a tour guide manner, "center of all things social and number one hotspot for weekend gatherings" he said as we walked down the street.

"On your left and right you will find various clothing stores, and shops that offer sports equipment, shoes, jewelry, books, food and all of life's necessities" Nick continued, following Kevin's suit.

"Over there is our personal favorite: the music store. Despite its somewhat shabby outward appearance, it's got everything you could ask for" he said as he guided our tour group towards the fair sized store.

When we entered the store, a small bell dinged above the door signaling customers. A teenaged guy, more around me and Nick's age, 16ish, walked out of the back room and behind the counter.

"Hey Jonas clan" he greeted with a smile as he leaned on the counter. I scanned him over quickly, taking in his fair height, curly blond hair and extremely piercing blue eyes.

This also quickly crushed my theory of nerds and ugly guys inhabiting this town. I was a very prejudging person and I realized now that I needed to get over it since I was often wrong.

"Hey David" Joe responded as he moved to give the employee a high five.

"What are you three up too?" he asked before noticing me with them, "and who's this?" he continued, another smile gracing his features. I couldn't help but take note that he had an amazing smile.

"Oh, right. David, this is our new friend and neighbor, Lilly. Lilly, this is David, he's one of our really good friends" Joe introduced us gesturing between us.

I smiled at him, "nice to meet you David"' I told him, reaching out to shake his hand.

"Likewise" he said, meeting my grip.

"We're showing her around town; she moved in yesterday" Nick explained.

"Well, welcome to Wyckoff" David said, releasing my hand. "Thanks" I said, pulling my hand back to my side.

Joe and David started to talk about unknown topics as I wandered around the store. Nick had been right; even though it looked somewhat…lacking from the outside, it really was actually quite nice. There were racks of CDs that lined the left side of the store that varied from old school rock to the more recent pop/rock stuff. I fingered through the albums and found familiar names and artists I had never heard of in my life.

After a few minutes of looking I found a certain CD tucked away in the middle. I couldn't help but smile as I pulled it out and looked at its cover. I looked at the photo of my best friend dolled out in her blonde wig and glamorous clothes and read the purple and yellow "Hannah Montana". My smile turned to a slightly sadder one. I missed Miley so much. It had only been a few days since I had seen her, but it really felt like forever.

With a sigh, I placed the case back where I had found it and continued on, finding another familiar album within seconds. The black and white cover with gold writing turned my smile back to a truly happy one.

The three faces that graced the cover had once been strangers that were simply the object of celebrity crushes. But now, I looked back in to the store and found each of them, casually looking through the merchandise and I was glad to say that I could probably already call them my friends.

"Look at that handsome guy in the middle" a voice said behind me. I turned and smiled at Nick,

"Yeah, I don't know. I've never really been a fan of that hair" I told him, putting the CD back in the rack, but putting it in the front. It had occurred to me that there probably was some kind of alphabetized system, but it wasn't like anyone would notice.

Nick feigned offence at my comment and I rolled my eyes. I looked over to the opposite side of the store and found something that sparked my interest.

I walked across the room with Nick close behind me and picked up a dark purple, Gibson guitar.

"You play?" he asked me as I sat down on the stool in the guitar display obviously placed there for people like me.

"Kind of" I shrugged, "my best friend's dad taught me a few years ago" I told him, smiling at the memory of Robbie Ray. I strummed a few lines of one of Miley's songs humming along.

"He must have been a good teacher" a new voice noted. Kevin walked up to us. Coming from him that was really something.

"Hey guys," Joe also joined us in the guitar area, "David's getting off and he's going to come with us on the rest of our little tour" he said, mostly looking towards me for approval.

"Sounds good" I assured him, standing up and putting the guitar back in the display. David seemed like a nice kid (not to mention cute) so I had no problem with him tagging along.

After his shift had officially ended about a minute later, we headed out the door leaving a perky brunette behind the counter. David had introduced her as Maggie just before we left. After a minute of conversation I decided that if she was this hyper all the time, caffeine would turn this girl in to a total monster. She seemed nice though, which kind of made up for it.

The five of us continued our way down the Wyckoff streets, the four guys pointing out various stores and places. It made me more comfortable as I figured out where things were and also met a few people along the way. This was one of those places where everyone knew each other; so many people were interested in the "new comer".

Kevin spotted one of the local restaurants down the way and suggested that we take a break and grab something to eat. My rumbling stomach and aching feet were extremely grateful.

"Oh no" David groaned from next to me, "look out, here comes Alex" I turned my head to follow his gaze. A girl was heading towards us wearing wedge sandals, a short white skirt and a hot pink halter top. Her blonde hair was curled tightly and I knew it wasn't natural. She reminded me of the time Miley had tried to turn me in to a girly girl and I almost gagged at the sight.

To quote myself, she looked like Amber and Ashley threw up on her.

"Oh my goodness! Look who it is!" she exclaimed as we came to a stop and she joined us.

"Hey Alex" Nick said in an almost tired way. I glanced at the guys and noticed that David and Nick shared a look that edged on disgust and Kevin simply looked bored. Joe on the other hand though, perked up at the sight of the new comer and unlike his brother, greeted her cheerfully.

I felt a strange pang in my stomach as she moved next to Joe and smiled up at him. To my disgust, he smiled back down.

"Hey there Joseph" she said, "Nick, Kevin, David" she acknowledged each of them with a nod and then her eyes rested on me. She probably hadn't noticed me at first since I was practically wedged between Joe and David, but now she looked at me with icy eyes.

"And this is…?" she asked, lifting a perfectly plucked eyebrow.

"Alex, Lilly. Lilly, Alex" Kevin explained dully.

"Alex goes to our school, in our grade, and Lilly is our new neighbor" Joe explained, slinging an arm around me.

Alex's eyes instantly narrowed at the sight, but then widened back again as she smiled an obviously forced smile.

"Nice to meet you Lilly" she told me with fake politeness. Nobody else seemed to notice the bite in her tone.

"Ditto" I responded cautiously. Despite my realization of my prejudgment issues, I could instantly tell that I didn't like this girl at all.

"Well, we're actually off for a bite to eat, we'll see you later" Nick intervened, not bothering to invite her to come with us.

"Right, see you around" she told us. But before we had a chance to get away, she sneakily stuck out her foot and tripped me. How the boys didn't notice she had done that was completely beyond me.

I stumbled to the ground, scraping my knee, and stared up at her venomously.

"Oh Lilly! Are you okay? Here, let me help you" she reached her hand out to me and kneeled down. Her demeanor instantly switched from fake perkiness to hatred.

"You stay away from Joe Jonas, you hear? That boy is mine" she hissed through her teeth so only I could hear her.

And with that, she put on another smile and pulled me to my feet, "there you go" she said sweetly. "Have fun!" Alex told us as our group walked away from her towards the restaurant, muttering different goodbyes.

I twisted my neck to look back at her to see her glaring at me with her arms crossed. A look that reminded me so much of Amber.

Maybe Wyckoff wouldn't be quite as dull as I had thought. Yippee.

**oOoOoOoOo**

**  
Ah, another chapter :o) Sorry for the delay in posting, but I'm doing my best. I do have tons of ideas, but it's taking me awhile to figure out how to get there. So please, be patient with me. I promise though that I won't let this fic go uncompleted, it will get finished eventually. But that's a long way away, so for now, please leave a review! I love to hear from you guys!**


	7. History Lessons

_I twisted my neck to look back at her to see her glaring at me with her arms crossed; a look that reminded me so much of Amber._

_Maybe Wyckoff wouldn't be quite as dull as I had thought. Yippee._

After Alex had bounded out of sight up the street, the five of us continued to the restaurant only a few feet ahead of us. It seemed almost silly that we had been so close to our destination, a happy group of friends, only to have the mood absolutely demolished by an overly perky blonde.

And the worst part of that little scene? I had a bad feeling that I would be seeing a lot more of Alex – a thought that was enough to make me want to gag.

As we continued down the sidewalk, I realized that the knee I had fallen on had worsened from an annoying pain to a constant throb. I leaned slightly against Kevin who looked down at me concerned,

"You okay?" he asked me, pulling his arm around my shoulders to support me better. The rest of our group turned back to look at us.

"Um, yeah" I told him in reply, "I think I fell kind of hard though". I looked down at my knee to find a mess of blood staining it, "fantastic" I muttered to myself. I looked back up to see four concerned faces looking at me.

"It's just a scratch, I'll be fine" I encouraged them. They looked somewhat skeptical but continued on to the restaurant anyway. As we walked, Kevin kept his arm around my shoulders helping me to walk. It wasn't like I had broken something and couldn't bear to put any weight on it, but there was a fair bruise and gash across it causing a sting to go up my leg almost constantly.

We entered the small restaurant called "Marissa's" and a 20 something girl took us to our table. I was surprised at first that she wasn't going gaga over the brothers, but I remembered quickly that seeing them around here probably wasn't as huge of a deal as it would be in other places; they'd probably been here before. She was glowing a little bit, but she wasn't freaking out.

"I'll be back in a minute to take your order" she told us before walking away, using the waitress line that everyone knew.

"Lils, are you sure your leg's okay?" Joe asked me skeptically as we slid in to our booth. I took a minute to look back down at the injury and consider the question. That was all the motivation he seemed to need.

"Listen, I'm going to go ask and see if they have any first-aid stuff around here. It may not be life or death, but that doesn't look very pleasant" he concluded, making has way out of his seat and towards the front of the restaurant to hunt an employee down.

With Joe on a temporary mission, I sighed and turned to the other three boys in front of me,

"Okay, what was that girl's deal?" I asked them bluntly. I knew that there was _something _about Alex that Joe was attracted to (insert angry glare here) so he would not be the person to ask. But with him busy for at least 5 minutes I could get the scoop from those who obviously shared views similar to mine.

"Alex?" Kevin clarified, I answered with a nod. "Where to start…" he began.

"The Swans have been living in Wyckoff as long as the rest of us have" Nick started,

"Which is basically forever" David added in.

"Unfortunately she is the same age as me and you, which also means she's in our grade" Nick said, gesturing to me, himself and David. So I had been right about his age! Score one for Lilly!

"In the earlier years, there was nothing wrong with her. She was a tolerable, only semi-annoying girl who kind of latched on to us from the very beginning. If we would go hang out at the mall or to the movies, she'd be there with us. We didn't really mind, but still" Kevin continued on.

"It wasn't until we were in 7th grade, Joe was a freshman and Kevin was a sophomore where things made a complete 180. Through late elementary school and middle school, Alex had thankfully found other friends and pretty much left us alone. But in the summer before 7th grade, everything changed" David told me.

"Nobody really knows what happened to her. 6th grade she was still a slightly arrogant and pompous but still was someone that could be pretty decent. And then BAM! The next year she was basically the queen bee of everything. She became a total backstabbing, fashion loving, melodramatic, high class diva, pain in the ass!" Nick said furiously.

"Have you ever seen High School Musical?" Kevin asked. I blinked once, but nodded my head.

"Imagine Sharpay about 4 years younger, without the gay twin, in a small town and then take away any nice spots and you've basically got Alex Swan." He explained. I winced, that didn't sound good at all.

"She hasn't changed one bit from then, except that she maybe got a little worse as each year passed" David said with a grimace.

"And the worst part about the resident bitch? There are people who don't even notice! Especially the adults. Anyone over 30 still views her as the good little girl of Wyckoff, New Jersey who could be somewhat standoffish but still loveable" Nick sighed and crossed his elbows on the table.

"It makes me sick" he muttered as he leaned his chin on his arms.

"And where does Joe fit in to all of this?" I asked, scanning the restaurant to make sure he wasn't coming back – the coast was clear for now.

"Ah, Joe" David started, "poor guy somehow got sucked in to everything. Don't know where everything went wrong. Might just be the fact that he thinks she's hot and is now blinded by love, but it seems that there is no getting him out of this" he explained with a sad sigh.

"We've tried everything to get him to see what a witch she really is, but it never seems to click" Nick said in a defeated tone, "he's not the only one either. Tons of guys think she's the most amazing thing to ever happen"

"But of course, she's infatuated with him making the situation all the worse. She's like a leech to him, just sticks on there whenever they're around each other. It's disgusting. It's a wonder that she hasn't already got him to be her boyfriend" Kevin said, shaking his head.

I leaned back in to the seat, "well, she sounds like a little bottle of sunshine" I commented dryly.

"I guess every town has to have its teen diva" I commented with a sigh. There was no escaping people like this.

"You had someone like this back in Malibu?" Nick asked me,

"Two someones actually; Amber Adesen and Ashley Dewitt. They made it their life long goal to make me and my two best friends' lives a living nightmare. Although, looking back it was really just Amber, Ashley was kind of a ditz. Well…they both were, but still"

"Let me tell you, Alex is no ditz. She's sneaky, maniacal, evil and malevolent." David assured me, raising his eyebrows.

I glanced at the three of them, "are you sure you aren't blowing this out of proportion just a little? I mean come on." They were making this girl seem like the devil incarnate and although she had seemed like quite a bitch, she didn't seem quite this bad.

"Nope" Kevin assured me with a shake of his head, "all true – unfortunately" he said.

"What's unfortunate?"

We all jumped at Joe's voice and looked to see him walking towards us.

"Um…it's unfortunate that…you hadn't come back yet! But here you are, so we're happy again" I said quickly, coming up with the first lie that came to mind. Too bad the lie had to be pretty stupid and it didn't help that I was probably one of the world's worst liars…

Yeah.

I mentally slapped myself as every one of the guys gave me an odd look. There was a short awkward moment of silence – I tend to cause those a lot. It's not like I try, it just happens.

"Right." Joe said, breaking our silence.

"Anyway," he continued, moving on from the weirdness of about 10 seconds ago, "it took a little scavenging, but one of the waitresses grabbed their first aid kit for me" he told us, holding up the little white box with the bright red cross.

Since I was sitting on the end of the booth, he motioned for me to swing around so that I was facing out towards the restaurant. He kneeled in front of me and opened the kit and set it on the floor.

When he pulled out a small bottle and a cotton ball I visibly winced. I was not a fan of pain and I knew how much that stuff hurt. Apparently Joe didn't notice my reaction since he continued on before turning back to me, "this is going to sting a little" he told me with a small, sympathetic frown.

He placed the wet cotton ball against my cut.

Yeah, it definitely "stung a little". Which was why I hissed through me teeth and instantly recoiled, fighting the reaction to kick Joe in the face.

He looked back up at me and frowned, "sorry Lils, but I have to do it" he told me somewhat sadly.

He placed the cleaner back on my knee and fire shot up through my leg again. I clenched my teeth and made a vow that if I ever found the person that had created this stuff, I would so completely kick their ass!

I would probably prefer to walk around with a scrape on my knee then this any day.

After the explicit torture was done, he bandaged me up, packed up the kit and slid back in to his seat.

"All fixed" Joe told me with a smile, which I returned gratefully.

Our lunch continued in a fairly normal. The first few minutes after Joe's return were somewhat strained, especially on my part since we were all thinking about our conversation. But as time progressed, the air seemed to thin out and things were back to normal…whatever that is.

"No, I'm serious. This girl came up to me at the mall once, and after we had gone over the whole "you're Nick Jonas!" and all that stuff, I gave her a hug and she burst in to tears! Like real, sobbing tears, right there in the middle of the mall" Nick was telling us as the rest of us burst in to laughter. All of us could imagine Nick standing with this hysterical girl, in the middle of the mall, with absolutely no clue what to do.

_Oh oh oh oh_

_This is the dance for all the lovers  
Takin' a chance for one another  
Finally it's our time now  
These are the times that we'll remember  
Breaking the city's heart together  
Finally it's our time now  
It's our time now_

I jumped as my phone began to practically scream out the Plain White T's. I fumbled for my phone and glanced at the caller I.D. which currently read "Doughnut". I smiled and looked up to the guys, "I'll be right back, this will probably only take a minute" I explained to them as I slid out from my seat. They nodded in response and I headed towards the door. I wasn't the person to answer her cell phone at the table with other people.

When I was outside of the restaurant, I leaned against the wall and flipped my phone open, "hey hey Ollie!"

"Lilly! How'd things go last night?" the concern was evident in his voice, yet he was talking very quietly.

"Better then expected. Grounded for one week starting tomorrow" I told him.

"Oh good; I was really worried about you, you know" Oliver said, still speaking not above a whisper.

"Thanks" I said with a smile, "but why are we whispering?" I asked, realizing that him whispering was making me do the same.

"Well, because…" he started, but he was cut off and after what sounded like an amount of rustling and fighting over the phone, he could now be heard in the background protesting.

"LILLY!" a voice squealed in my ear. I instantly perked up, switching the phone from my left ear to my right.

"Miles!" I responded, "oh my gosh I miss you so much!"

"Ugh, me too! But don't worry, Oliver and I will be coming up soon. That's a promise. My dad's actually going to call your mom tonight and see what's the soonest that we can come" she told me. I felt excited just at the thought of my two best friends coming to visit.

"Things haven't been the same here without you, everyone misses you, and I'm not even kidding. Jackson told me yesterday that things seem quieter without you around. Can you believe that? Jackson! Even Rico's a little sad that you haven't been around. I swear Lils, more people liked you then you realize" she said and I couldn't help but smile. I really missed all of them too, so it was nice to know that the feeling was mutual.

"So, I'm sitting here at Oliver's house; what are you up to?" she asked me, at this point I heard in the back "come on Miley, I wanna talk to her too! Can't you put her on speaker or something?" and I rolled my eyes. Oliver was such a complainer.

"Oh you know, nothing much. I'm out to lunch with Nick, Joe and Kevin. Oh! And their friend David too" I said casually, knowing that within seconds Miley would pick up on what that really meant.

"Oh cool! I'm glad that…wait a minute! Nick, Joe and Kevin?" she asked me. I could practically see her eyes bugging out on the other side of the line.

"Are you trying to tell me that you're having lunch with the Jonas Brothers?" her voice had now progressed to an almost yell. It was that high pitched squeal-y voice that she tended to use while she prepared the let out a scream.

"Maybe…" I responded slyly, grinning madly. And with that I held the phone away from my ear and Miley absolutely burst. After a minute of her insane rampage, I placed the phone back to my ear.

"What? When? HOW?" she asked me crazily.

"Well, it turns out that I'm living next door to them. Go figure" I explained to her with a small shrug of my shoulders.

"Wow Lilly, that's just…wow! I can't believe your friends with them and stuff! You totally have to introduce us when we come" she said before letting out another controlled squeal. Man, I had missed her a lot.

"Of course Miles" I assured her with a laugh.

"Listen, I should probably go. I kind of momentarily ditched them so I could talk to you guys. I promise I'll call soon though".

Miley and I shared our goodbyes, and Oliver also got in there somehow and soon I was listening to the dial tone again. I sighed lightly and placed the phone back in my pocket and moved back in to the restaurant. I found that the boys had already paid for the meal sand were looking about ready to go – this didn't come as a surprise seeing as we had all been done eating when my phone rang.

"You ready to hit the town?" Kevin asked me with a smile. I nodded my head, "let's go!"

For the rest of the afternoon I became acquainted with most parts of Wyckoff. After the grand tour, I figured that maybe I could actually live here and be comfortable. After all, there were incredibly nice people (David and I had gotten to know each other as we explored the town), good stores, and it was an all around nice setting.

"So what do you think?" Joe asked me as we turned the corner to our street. We had dropped David off about 3 minutes ago on his block, which was actually very close to ours.

"I'm thinking I could get used to this place" I told him, "it's not home yet, but maybe it could become that", and surprisingly, that wasn't a lie.

**oOoOoOoOo**

**A/N: Kay, I'll admit – maybe not my best work. It was a bit of a filler chapter though. I promise I've got tons of drama up my sleeve, the only problem is I have to figure out how to get there without rushing or making it cheesy. So in the meantime, bear with me. I really do appreciate all of your reviews, they make me smile :o)**


	8. Cars and Home Depot

"_So what do you think?" Joe asked me as we turned the corner to our street. We had dropped David off about 3 minutes ago on his block, which was actually very close to ours._

"_I'm thinking I could get used to this place" I told him, "it's not home yet, but maybe it could become that", and surprisingly, that wasn't a lie._

The next morning, I woke up completely refreshed, renewed and ready to start a new day.

That was, until I remembered where I was.

Despite my epiphany of Wyckoff not being complete hell, it was still a hard concept to grasp. And despite my new friends, I couldn't help but feel a bit lonely. Stupid, I know. What kind of person makes friends with the Jonas Brothers and then complains about it? I'm sure every teenage girl (and probably some guys…) would probably kill to be in my position.

Pretty messed up, huh? I guess I'm just too difficult to accept when good things happen to me.

I would have sulked longer, but I was distracted by an extremely loud knocking on my door followed by equally loud voices,

"Wake-y wake-y Lilly!"

"Come on Lils, its noon! We've got plans!"

"We're not going to wait all day for you!"

I sat up in my bed and glared at the door. I flung the sheets off of me and moved towards the door, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and double checking that my pajamas weren't embarrassing as I went. Once I registered the blue plaid shorts and white cami, I deemed myself worthy and opened the door.

"Do you have any idea how annoying that is?" I asked, not bothering to keep the slight malice out of my voice.

"Yes" Joe answered with a smile. I gave him a brief, disbelieving look before shaking my head, accepting that this was just how they were.

"So, is there a reason for this lovely wake up call?" I questioned, leaning against my door frame.

"We've got stuff to do and you're wasting away in bed" Nick explained, crossing his arms.

"Things?" we hadn't made any plans the day before, so this was all news to me.

"We talked to your parents a little bit ago" Kevin told me, as if that explained everything. I waited a moment,

"And…?" I urged after not getting a continuation on the story.

"They gave an all clear on starting on your room today" Nick finished. I perked up, smiling lightly.

"You know, when it comes to grounding, your parents are pretty easy" Kevin said, I nodded in response.

"Yeah, they're usually a little bit tougher, but since the whole thing was kind of their fault, I think they decided to lighten up a little bit. You know, guilt factor and all" I explained my best guess to them. I too had been a little curious as to why I wasn't under lock and key yet and had been thinking about it the night before.

"Well anyway, get dressed and we'll meet you downstairs when you're ready" Joe said, urging us along.

"Alright, be down in 10" I assured them, although it was probably a lie. Knowing myself, it would take at least 20 minutes for me to get ready. They nodded and headed towards the stairs as I moved back in to my room.

I scanned my room for the suitcases that were strewn across the floor. I picked the nearest one and unzipped it to find my mess of clothing. I dug around in it for a couple of minutes before I found a pair of old jean shorts and a Hannah Montana shirt that Miley had given me as a joke a couple of months ago; I figured that neither of these things were overly important to me and I wouldn't mind getting paint or such on them. I slipped them on and slid on a pair of flip flops before moving to my bathroom where I brushed my teeth, combed my hair and pulled it in to a high, bouncy ponytail. I gave myself a once over and figured I looked pretty good for someone who was about to go all Ty Pennington on their bedroom.

As I left my room, I gathered my laptop, cell phone and iPod to bring them down and surrender them to my mom – this was how groundings worked at the Truscott home. You didn't just lose the privilege; you lost the device itself just to make sure you weren't using it anyway. I balanced two smaller ones on the computer precariously and carried them down the stairs, taking extra care not to trip and damage my most prized possessions.

When I reached the kitchen, I found Joe, Nick and Kevin munching away on a stack of pancakes my mom must have thrown together. I set my things down on the counter and sat down at the table with them, pulling over a plate and taking some food for myself.

"You like Hannah Montana?" Nick asked, raising an eyebrow. I looked at him like he was a lunatic until I remembered the shirt I was wearing.

"Oh, yeah, I guess you could say that" I replied cryptically with a slight smirk as I speared a piece of pancake on my fork. The brothers just exchanged looks and continued eating, figuring it wasn't worth continuing. I smiled; they knew me pretty well already.

We sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes while we finished eating until each of us pushed our plates back, unable to eat anything else.

"What did your mom do to those? They were so good!" Kevin exclaimed, moving to take care of dishes, but I motioned for him to sit back down and stood up myself, collecting the plates and silverware from the table.

"I think they have nutmeg or something like that in them. It's some secret ingredient she learned from one of my friends' dad" I said, smiling at the though of Robby Ray – I actually had to laugh slightly at the fact that what Kevin had said was almost exactly what I told Robby when I had first tasted the pancakes.

"So what's on the docket for the day?" I asked as I placed the dishes in the dishwasher; I knew that we were obviously going to be working on my room, but I was curious as to the details.

"Well, your mom gave us permission to take you out to get paint and stuff since she doesn't figure anything to exciting will happen at Home Depot" Nick said.

"Obviously she doesn't know us very well" Joe added with a mischievous glint in his eyes. I looked towards Kevin and Nick; neither of them made a move to contradict their brother.

I simply rolled my eyes at the three of them, "alright Mr. Mischief and company, let's roll out" I commented as I placed the last pate in the dishwasher and kicked it closed with my foot.

"Who's driving?" I called over my shoulder as we headed out the door, them right behind me.

"Well seeing as you don't know where to go, Nick's car is getting fixed and none of us really trust Joe behind the wheel…" I interrupted to snort, "I guess I'll be driving" Kevin said as we moved towards the Jonas garage, digging his keys out of his pocket.

Nick went over to one of those garage key pads and punched in a number, opening up the garage door. I couldn't help but gape when I saw the car directly inside.

"Is that a Porsche?" I asked as I moved towards it.

"911 GT2" Kevin replied with a smile, pushing his hand in to his pocket.

"Very inconspicuous" I mumbled, examining the shiny, black car.

"Yeah, well as much as we try to not let fame change our lives more then necessary, we can't deny our mutual love for cars" Nick told me, shrugging his shoulders.

"This ones mine, the red Ferrari over there is Joe's and Nick's got a silver Mercedes that's in the shop."

I moved my eyes over to Joe's car and was equally as shocked. I don't know why I was surprised; they were currently one of the hottest bands around and could probably buy as many cars as they wanted. Yet they acted so normally and non-bigheaded that it kind of shocked me to see them with these expensive cars.

"Wow…" I breathed. I was almost kind of glad I had left my Nissan Sentra back home with Oliver - it would look pathetic next to these things.

I was knocked out of my awe by the sound of car doors and I looked up to see Joe standing next to the open door of Kevin's car,

"After you" he said, motioning for me to get in. I couldn't help but feel anxious getting in to the car seeing as it was probably worth everything I owned and more. Kevin noticed my stiffness and laughed slightly. He moved his arm around the head of his seat and craned his neck to look back at me.

"Lilly, it's a car – not a glass box. You can relax" he instructed me, still smiling as he turned back to adjust the mirrors and clip on his seat belt.

I gave him a sarcastic look before buckling my seat belt as well and relaxing in to the seat. Joe slid in next to me and as soon as we were all in, Kevin backed up and headed down the road.

Nick, who was sitting shotgun, fiddled with the radio, stopping occasionally on different stations, but he eventually turned that off and popped in a CD. After a minute of him flipping through the tracks, Simple Plan's "I'd Do Anything" blasted through the car. I instantly perked up,

"No way! You guys like Simple Plan?" I asked excitedly.

"You sound surprised" Nick commented as he turned it down slightly so that we could hear each other.

"Maybe just a little," I confessed, "but then again, you three have been doing that a lot lately", Joe looked over at me confused,

"Doing what?" he asked, tapping his foot to the music.

"Surprising me," I explained.

"How so?" he prodded.

"Well, there was the whole general surprise of living next to you, then there was how nice to me you automatically were, then there was the fight night deal, showing me around town, the cars and now you happen to like my all time favorite band too!" I told him as if I couldn't believe they'd missed this.

"All time favorite band? Ouch Lilly. And here we thought we were your favorite" Joe exclaimed, placing his hand melodramatically over his heart.

I shrugged, "sorry guys, but nothing comes before those Canadian boys. I'll admit, you're a close second though" I assured them jokingly as the song ended and a new one came up. I didn't give them a chance to protest their spot on my favorites list as I started to sing a long.

_I heard you're doing okay,_

_But I want you to know_

_I'm addic-, I'm addicted to you_

_I can't pretend I don't care_

_When you don't think about me_

_Do you think I deserve this?_

_I tried to make you happy_

_But you left anyway_

At this point, it didn't seem like the others could resist, and I was joined by three, ridiculously perfect voices – harmonized and everything. I had a feeling that they too were big Simple Plan fans and had figured out who would take what parts - maybe they'd done a cover for practice? - Joe's voice joined mine at the chorus's melody, Nick took David's higher, harmony part and Kevin's jumped an octave below us, mimicking what Joe and I were singing.

To be honest, I felt a bit intimidated at first, seeing as they were big hotshot rock stars and all. But the feeling passed and soon enough it wasn't the Jonas Brothers and Lilly Truscott singing, it was Nick, Kevin, Joe and Lilly singing along to a Simple Plan song in the car – it actually got quite comfortable.

_I'm trying to that_

_I'm addicted to you_

_But I want it_

_And I need it_

_I'm addicted to you_

_Now it's over_

_Can't forget what you said_

_And I never_

_Wanna do this again_

_Heartbreaker_

_Heartbreaker  
Heartbreaker_

_  
_This continued on for the entire car ride to Home Depot, each of us dancing in our seats (Kevin a bit more restricted than the rest of us, seeing as he was responsible for our lives at the moment…) and probably looking like lunatics. By the time we had pulled in to the parking lot we were laughing our heads off for no apparent reason, all smiling widely.

The whole escapade reminded of me and Oliver's road trip to Santa Cruz the summer before this one. We had spent the entire drive singing along to the radio and just having a good time together.

"We're such freaks" Nick laughed once we had all calmed down to the point of being able to talk.

"Yeah, well there's a shocker" I commented with a smile, unbuckling my seatbelt once Kevin had shut the car off. We all stepped out of the car and I closed the door carefully and slowly, not wanting to cause any bit of damage. Despite Kevin's assurance that it wasn't overly fragile, knowing myself, it probably wouldn't take too much to scratch it or something.

We entered through Home Depot's automatic doors and were greeted by the unmistakable smell of home improvement stores; Joe immediately reverted to spy mode,

"Okay, we've got one hour to get what we need to totally awesome-ify Lilly's room" he said in a low voice.

"Really? Mom and dad gave a time limit?" I asked, somewhat shocked. That was weird, even for them. Joe sighed irritated and broke out of character,

"No Lilly, we have all day, but it adds to the dramatics" he explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh…right" I said, looking over at Nick, who simply shrugged. I turned my head back to Joe, who was once again wearing an odd look on his face and crouching strangely, as if trying to look stealthy. A few people walked passed us and shot Joe a weird look, but continued on their way.

"Alright, the first thing we need to find is paint – it's by far the most crucial point of decorating a room" he told us, eyeing the store suspiciously. I leaned over towards Kevin,

"Does he always do this when you go out?" I asked him quietly, not wanting to upset the middle Jonas again.

Kevin sighed, "unfortunately". I nodded, unsurprised (for once) and turned back to listen to Joe's Mission Impossible-esque rant.

"The paint lies at the west end of the store" he said, pointing towards the right. None of us bothered to mention that that was actually the east side of the store; we weren't going to ruin his fun.

"When I give the signal, we'll go" Joe concluded.

"Um…what's the signal?" Nick asked,

"Oh, you'll know" Joe replied as he leaned forward into a runner's start. I smiled and joined him, Nick and Kevin doing the same after an inevitable roll of their eyes. It wasn't that they weren't in to it, because it was obvious that they were, it was just that their brother was such a five year old it was hard to resist an eye roll every once in awhile.

"Okay…wait for it…NOW!" Joe cried, bursting off in the direction he had pointed out earlier. I was close at his heals with Nick and Kevin at my side. I could have sworn that as we sprinted across the store I saw a couple of employees stop and stare, most likely wondering if they should call management or not.

We reached the paint aisle – which was thankfully empty of other customers and began the hunt.

I was temporarily overloaded by the hundreds of paint swatches that were in front of me. But I saw Nick from the corner of his eyes, collecting the little squares of color strategically. To be honest, I wasn't quite sure what the competition of this was, I think it had to do with which one of us could find the winning color, but I was experiencing a bizarre adrenaline rush and found myself stealthily picking up any color that interested me in any way.

I spotted a woman round the corner, holding a paint swatch,

"There's more on the other side!" I cried out as I picked up my last square before running in the direction the woman had come from. This aisle was unfortunately occupied by other costumers – like that stopped us.

I rounded the corner first, making a bee line for the bright, Disney paint (why it was Disney I didn't quite understand, except for the fact that the swatches were shaped like Mickey Mouse's head…). I avoided all of the pinks like the plague and moved to collect various greens and blues.

It was at that point that I heard Kevin shout, "employee!" and I turned to see a man in an orange vest headed our way, and looking very much pissed off.

The four of us shared looks before sprinting in the opposite direction; the employee had been a bit on the stocky side so we all knew that we could out run him. Nick lead us towards the storage area, where no one ever was, and came to a screeching halt by a pile of ridiculously huge plastic bins. I peered around the corner,

"We're clear. Let's get a load of the stash". Ugh, Joe was rubbing off on me.

We all sat down on the cold floors and laid our swatches out in the middle of our circle and I studied them carefully, tapping my finger thoughtfully against my chin.

"Okay, first off, get rid of everything pink. Way to girly and not my style at all" I started off and we all pulled together the pinks, placing them outside of the circle. I smiled at the fact that the pinks hadn't been a very large portion of the collection.

After a few minutes of picking and choosing we had only two swatches in front of us.

"Boys, I think we've got it" I said, smiling broadly. We were left with lime green (one of the Disney colors…go figure) and black – a perfect combination in my opinion. I felt that it suited me.

Joe picked them up and held them up in front of him, "the perfect combination of color" he said wistfully, somewhat resembling a mad scientist who had just perfected some weird experiment.

"Now comes the hard part" Kevin said, "one of us has to actually go and get the paint" he told us solemnly.

"And that's a problem because…" Joe asked, not catching on.

"Because chances are, the entire staff has been notified of four maniacs wreaking havoc on the unsuspecting store," Kevin clarified, Joe nodded in understandment.

"I vote that Lilly goes" Nick said automatically, my head shot up,

"What? Why me?"

"Because, you can easily feign innocence and stay under control; unlike some people" he explained to me, shooting Joe a look to which he responded by sticking out his tongue.

"Fine, I'll go. But cover me" I said, standing up from my seat on the floor, color squares in hand. As I moved down towards the counter where people helped you get paint, I caught a few employees eyeing my warily, but I reached my destination without hassle.

I told the guy at the counter what I was looking for and he left to go get what we needed. As I was waiting, I turned to see if the guys had followed like I had asked – and they definitely had. I had to control a peal of laughter when I found Joe trying to blend in by posing with a cardboard cutout advertising dry wall, Kevin hiding between the rugs that were almost directly across from where I was, and Nick crouching beneath the model sinks.

When the employee returned, I had to bite my lip as I bought the paints there and confirmed everything. Once I was all set, the brothers bounded from their hiding spots.

"Victory is ours!" Joe yelled, holding up one of the bags of paint. We all cheered at the success of our mission, but we were interrupted by someone clearing their throat.

We all turned to look at a handful of Home Depot employees and a few upset looking costumers. One woman stepped forward, her hands on her hips and her "manager" badge gleaming under the artificial lighting.

"We're going to have to ask you to leave the store"

Our eyes widened as we shared looks before the mob ushered us not so kindly out of the store. Once the automatic doors closed behind us there was a moment of shell shocked silence before we burst out laughing. We stood there for at least 10 minutes, tears pouring out of our eyes as our stomachs burned from laughing so hard.

Eventually we made it back to the car and managed to pull out of the parking lot, still shaking with laugher.

"I c-can't believe…that we got kick-cked out of Home D-depot!" I choked as I gasped for air from the laughter.

"I di-didn't even know…know that was poss-ssible!" Joe agreed, seemingly overjoyed about our accomplishments.

"I'm pretty sure that's only possible for people like us" Kevin stated grinning broadly, trying to calm his laughter the most as to stop his arms from shaking as he drove the car.

"Oh man" I exhaled, slumping down in to the seats, finally able to control my breathing, "that was absolutely priceless"

We all sighed wistfully as Nick leaned over to start the music again. Throughout the drive home we would switch off from singing along to uncontrollable laughter again.

"Let's not tell our parents about this" I advised as we neared our street, "Grow Up" playing softly in the background.

"I don't think they'll appreciate the fact that we were forcibly removed from a home improvement store…"

**oOoOoOoOo**

**A/N: I know, it was kind of an abrupt ending. But it's 2:40 in the morning and I refused to let myself sleep until I had this finished. So yeah – I kind of needed to stop before I lost control and wrote another nine pages… Hope you liked it! Reviews make my day :o)  
**

**BREAKING DAWN IN 12 DAYS!**

**-Erin**


	9. Paint Wars

"_Let's not tell our parents about this" I advised as we neared our street, "Grow Up" playing softly in the background._

"_I don't think they'll appreciate the fact that we were forcibly removed from a home improvement store…"_

We pulled in to the Jonas garage, having controlled ourselves for the most part, and unloaded the trunk of the car where the paint was. I could only be thankful that we had been kicked out _after_ buying the paint, or else we would have been in a little bit of trouble.

The four of us stood for a minute, looking out our accomplishment with smiles etched on our faces as we relived the past half hour.

"Alright! To work!" I announced, picking up the two nearest cans of paint and, with quite a bit of effort, made my way out of the garage and across the lawn to my house; the Jonas's trailing closely behind me until they were next to me. I noticed with slight chagrin that I had taken the bulk of the load with Kevin hauling the other can and Nick and Joe carrying nothing.

"Wait!" I cried, causing the guys to stop abruptly and stare at me confused. I looked again to the things we were carrying and frowned.

"Please tell me someone remembered to pick up paintbrushes and such while we were there" I asked, but defeat evident in my voice, knowing that neither of them had remembered.

The looks dawning on their faces were enough to tell me that I had thought right. I sighed and placed the paint cans on the ground and flexed my fingers a bit to regain feeling in them.

"Well that's great. Now what?" I asked dejectedly; all that work to end up not having everything we needed. I guess we had been too wrapped up in our mission to remember the necessities…figures.

"Well, we could always go back and grab some" Joe offered, running a hand through his hair.

"Please, we just got kicked out like 10 minutes ago. Something tells me that we aren't exactly going to be welcomed back with open arms" I reminded him sarcastically. He shrugged in response.

There was a moment of silence while we all considered our options – however limited they were.

"I got it!" Nick suddenly yelled, a light bulb visibly going off over his head (no, not literally…geeze). The rest of us snapped our heads up to look at him expectantly.

"Didn't dad paint the basement like…two months ago?" he asked.

"Um…yeah?" Kevin replied, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Well then he's bound to have brushes and stuff lying around from then; he's such a packrat that there's no way he would have gotten rid of it" the youngest brother explained, smiling triumphantly, a weird air of accomplishment surrounding him.

I smiled brightly as well, "Nicholas Jonas you're a genius" I exclaimed, hugging him. I know it may seem like I was getting a _tad_ overexcited but hey – after you've been kicked out of Home Depot for a project, that project is going to happen at all costs.

I then released him and spun him around so he was facing his house again and gave him a light push in the same direction.

"Now go! We'll meet you back at my house – just come right in, don't worry about knocking or anything. My room is up the stairs and at the very end of the hallway. You can't miss it" I told him before giving him one more shove and watching him walk off. Once he had hit the garage, it turned back to face Joe and Kevin.

"Alright then" I muttered to myself before stretching my arms and flexing my fingers to loosen myself up for the weight of the cans again.

Above my head the two brothers shared a look before bending down and each taking a can of the paint right as I was about to pick them up. Without another word they bounded towards my house, looking not at all phased by the weight. I scowled at them for a moment before jogging to catch up and open the door for them.

"We're back!" I called in to the house as we entered. My dad looked up from the couch and set the book he had been reading on the coffee table.

"You kids get everything you needed?" he asked, eyeing the cans of paint that Kevin and Joe were carrying as they continued towards the stairs. I noticed with amusement that their fingers were starting to turn white and they were walking in somewhat of a rushed pace.

"Sure did Mr. Truscott!" Joe called as he almost ran up the stairs, his older brother close behind him.

"Nick ran back to their house to grab a few extra things that we forgot to pick up at the store" I said, moving over a bit to talk to him.

My dad opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a loud crash coming from upstairs followed by, "Joe you're such an idiot!" A moment later Joe's head appeared at the top of the stairs, looking a bit nervous.

"No need to panic everyone! Everything's good. We didn't break anything, I swear" he assured us before the head disappeared again.

I looked over at my dad who was staring at the spot Joe had occupied a moment ago with an amused expression on his face.

"That boy is quite a character, isn't he?" he marveled, turning his gaze back to me. I smiled in response, laughing slightly.

"Yeah, that he definitely is" I told him, a paused for a moment before adding on, "he reminds me a lot of Oliver" I confessed.

There was a moment of silence before my dad gave me a sympathetic look, "you'll see him again, sweetie, don't worry. I promise" he assured me, hugging me lightly. I gave him a small smile before running up the stairs as well.

I entered the room, somewhat hesitantly to find an annoyed Kevin, pushing himself off of the floor and brushing himself off.

"Okay, what happened?" I sighed, resisting the urge to cross my arms across my chest. Kevin shot a glare at Joe who smiled back sheepishly before turning to me again.

"Well, Joe here thought it would be a smart idea to set the can of paint he was carrying right in front of the door and I happened to trip over it on my way in" he explained.

"Hey, it's not my fault you didn't look where you were going" Joe defended, before wincing as he earned himself another glare from his older brother. I laughed and shook my head,

"You okay?" I asked Kevin, still smiling.

"Yeah" he told me, "but that's going to be a huge bruise in the morning. Oh, I think I might have gotten a scratch on your floor from the paint can" he admitted, looking apologetic as he pointed to the floor.

I tilted my head to the right and squinted as I searched for this scratch he was talking about. It took me a minute but I finally caught on to the faint line about a foot or so long. I straightened back up,

"Oh please, that's nothing. I obviously wouldn't have even noticed if you hadn't said anything" I assured him. He nodded in appreciation.

It was at that moment that Nick came in, carrying 2 of those paint tray things filled with paint brushes, rollers, tape, a few old, folded up sheets, paint stirrers and a screwdriver. It was an impressive haul that made me feel like this was really going to go somewhere.

"I think we're all set now" he said as he set the stuff down, the triumphant smile from earlier still showing.

Note to self: it is very easy to make Nick Jonas feel as though he has accomplished something important.

"What's the screwdriver for?" I asked as I picked it up and turned it in my hand.

"Opening the cans" he replied taking it from me and kneeling down next to the first can of green paint. I watched him as he carefully stuck the point of the screwdriver underneath the edge of the lid and gently pried it open until it popped off showing a pool of shockingly bright green.

Joe whistled low as he moved next to me, "that is some color" he commented as Nick moved on to taking a one of those giant tongue depressor looking things and began to stir the paint.

"I like it" I said taking a brush from the pile of supplies, dipping it in to the paint and after removing excess paint, moved to the closest wall, brushing the color on to it. I looked at it for a moment, my head tilted slightly as I examined it. I then turned to look at the guys and smiled.

The fun began.

Nick proceeded to pour the paint in to the tray while Kevin and I laid the sheets on the floor to protect it from the paint and Joe grabbed my iPod and dug my speakers out of one of my suitcases (with my permission of course). As soon as everything was set, the opening chords of "Got Me Going Crazy" blasted across the room. I turned my gaze to Joe feeling horrified as I remembered that I had every singly one of their songs on my iPod. That wasn't embarrassing at all or anything…

In response he simply smirked, picked up a small paintbrush, dipped it in the paint and moved towards me,

"And you say we're not your all time favorite band" he commented as he placed a streak of paint on my nose. My mouth flew open and I moved to retaliate but he was already on the other side, innocently painting the wall. I narrowed my eyes, vowing revenge in my head, but at another time. When he least expected it.

The four of us continued on, singing along to the music and painting the walls. I had to admit that their painting skills were definitely up to snuff, something I, for some reason, hadn't really expected.

That probably has to do with the fact that I distinctly remembered that Miley and Oliver had both tried to help me paint my room back in Malibu a few years ago and I had learned that neither of them could do it very well. In the end, it had been Jackson who had been the most help (yeah, I know, it sounds surprising, but as we grew up, Jackson became less of a dork and more tolerable) while Miles and Oliver simply kept us company.

As "Burnin' Up" came on, I couldn't help but laugh as they took on their personalities from the video as they painted. If anyone else had walked in the room they would have figured all three of them were mentally unstable, seeing as Joe had even gone so far as to give himself a lime green mustache. I had been a little concerned about the fumes right under his nose but then I remembered that it's not like he could get any worse…

Kidding!

But anyway, I found it hilarious as I watched Kevin paint the wall in a Karate Kid fashion and had soon joined in by taking on my own persona. Even when the song finished, we kept up the acting until we couldn't stand it anymore and started laughing.

For the record, Joe kept his moustache even when we stopped acting. Whether it was because he forgot it was there or because he wanted to keep it is beyond me.

After a good hour or so of painting the green, we decided on taking a break before starting on the black stripe that would go around the entire room. We turned the music down to put it in the background and sat down on my floor.

As we talked about random things, I remembered the paint on my nose and picked up a paintbrush from the nearly empty tray. I made sure that there wasn't much paint on it before sneaking behind Joe, who was distracted in talking to Kevin.

As I moved, Nick spotted me and eyed the paintbrush in my hand skeptically, obviously assuming the worst of me. I simply held a finger to my lips and reached my hand over Joe's head. Nick watched silently in amusement as I painted a long streak across Joe's forehead. He jumped and shot around to look at me while Kevin, Nick and I burst in to laughter.

I watched as the middle Jonas Brother narrowed his eyes slightly at me, "oh. It's on" he announced before jumping up and grabbing the nearest paintbrush. I shot up as well and began to run as Joe chased me around the room with the brush,

"Help! I need backup!" I yelled we passed Nick and Kevin who were shaking uncontrollably with laughter.

It took about three seconds of reaction time before there was a full fledged battle between us. It was me and Kevin vs. Joe and Nick, and in my opinion, it was pretty obvious who was going to win.

In about a minute Kevin had managed to tackle Joe on the ground and proceeded to write "KJ" on his right cheek and "LT" on his left, but also had a rather large streak of paint surrounded by smaller streaks going down his entire arm from when Joe been (fruitlessly) attempting escape.

I on the other hand had taken on the task of Nick and had managed to give him a rather sloppy mustache to match his brother's while he had gotten paint all over my legs and hands (I had attempted to stop his attack by grabbing on to the brush).

It was in these moments were I was immensely glad that the entire floor area was protected by the sheets and I had only noticed a few spots of paint on the furniture, which I couldn't care less about.

The intense paint battle continued for a few more minutes until we were interrupted by the Plain White T's once again being blasted from my phone on the dresser. I looked down at my hands which were still covered in wet paint and frowned.

"Can one of you grab that for me?" I asked, not having any intention of getting my phone covered in lime green paint. Joe immediately leaped towards my phone, despite being the furthest away from it, flipped it open and pressed it to his ear.

"Hello, you've reached the cellular device of Miss Lillian Truscott. This is Joe speaking, how may I help you?"

I restrained from slapping my hand against my forehead for the sole reason of not wanting paint in my hair (it's ridiculously hard to get out).

There was a short pause while he listened to whoever was on the other line before responding,

"Her hands are a little…painted at the moment"

…

"No, I meant painted"

…

"Yes, I know that the expression is "her hands are tied", but her hands _aren't_ tied, they're painted"

Oh Joe…

"Just put the phone on my shoulder" I advised, wanting to stop this before he said something even stupider. He obliged and I squeezed my shoulder to my ear to hold the cell phone in place.

"Hello?"

"Lilly? Is that you? Thank goodness. Was that Joe Jonas?" a voice asked me, it was Miley.

"Unfortunately" I said, shooting a glance at Joe who simply shrugged and smiled.

"I still can't believe that you're neighbors with them!" she exclaimed, "I also can't believe I just talked to Joe Jonas! He's sort of…weird though, you know?"

I laughed lightly, "yeah, I definitely know. So what's up Miles?"

"Oh, right! Well, guess were Hannah has a concert scheduled this weekend?"

I felt excitement boiling up in me, "no way!"

"Yes way! Now, we're not actually in Wyckoff, the concert is Friday night in Wildwood, which is like three hours away. But as soon as the concert's over, we're coming straight to Wyckoff!"

I squealed, ignoring the strange looks I earned from the brothers, "no way! How long are you staying for? Is Oliver coming?"

"I think dad said only about a couple days since I have Hannah stuff back in Malibu the next week, but we'll make the best of it; and of course Oliver is coming! So is Jackson, unavoidable I'm afraid, but he's promised me he wouldn't be a total dork and I actually kind of believe him"

"Aw, that's alright. He's not all bad" I confirmed, smiling like mad.

"Well, I have to go, I've got a rehearsal for the concert and I'm already running late. Love you lots!"

"Love you too Miles, talk to you soon!" I finished and Joe took the phone from me and closed it, replacing it back on my dresser.

"What was that all about?" Kevin asked.

"My friends are coming up to visit this weekend since they're going to be in town!" I told them excitedly.

"That's great!" Nick exclaimed, smiling also.

"Well then, we'd better get this room finished up then" Kevin said, turning the music back up again as we went to work with the black stripe, acting just as stupidly as we had earlier.

**oOoOoOoOoOo**

**A/N: I know, I know, I'm terrible. It's been some time since I last update….And I'm sorry if this seemed like a slow chapter. I know exactly what I want to do with this, but I don't want to just dive right in to my main plot(s) (I've changed my mind a few times on things, so there might be some semi-plots to tie up loose ends). To be honest, I've got a lot of plans for this, I just don't quite know how to get there yet, so bear with me. This story isn't all fun and games, seriousness will ensue…eventually. Thanks to all who have been reviewing!**

**-Erin**

**-edit- I reposted this chapter because I read over it and found tons of mistakes that were driving me crazy. So if you reviewed before I did this, sorry! I still appreciate it :o)**


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